Fat Brown Lump
by Vicious Grin
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha are best friends and seniors in high school. Sesshoumaru just moved back to Tokyo. When Inuyasha betrays Kagome, he leaves Sesshoumaru to help mend the broken pieces...and Kagome's life really sucks. SESSxKAG Lemony goodness? mebbe
1. Competition Blues

**WHOO! Yeah, new story! I think this one is going to be a lot longer than my first one. Enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: If I don't own, you don't sue. YAY! .+**

* * *

"You promise?"

"_Promise"_

"Alright. Seriously, don't let me down!! I'll see you around noon. Bye!"

Kagome Higurashi hung up the small, white, house phone, hooked it up to the receiver in her room and sighed. She had just gotten off the line with one of her closest childhood friends, Inuyasha Taisho. The two had known each other since they were very young, thanks to their parents being close friends already. Now they were both seniors in high school ready to go off to college in a few months.

Inuyasha had been pretty popular in school. He did exceptionally well in every sport he attempted, received good grades, and was nearly inseparable from Kagome. Most of the school assumed the two were dating, despite their many attempts at denying it, but they found it much easier to just ignore the rumors.

Like Inuyasha, Kagome appeared to be very friendly, and she usually received high marks on her report cards. Unfortunately, this year her grades seemed to be getting on the low side. She seemed to be constantly distracted and found it hard to stay focused, especially when she was around Inuyasha. At least she had archery. Nothing could ever distract her from that. It was her one true passion and her reason for calling him that morning.

Today was one of her big competitions where several other schools would be competing against hers for the first place title, and she needed Inuyasha to be there to help keep her focused. All the competing archers were allowed one person to act as a coach along the sidelines and naturally Kagome chose him. She trusted him more than anyone and always went to him first when she had good news. He always congratulated her with great big bear hugs that seemed to last forever. She loved his hugs.

Letting out a faint chuckle, Kagome walked over to her bedroom window and looked out at the sun rising over a just waking up Tokyo City.

'Today seems like a nice day,' she thought to herself, 'I think its time I finally tell him.'

She took one last look outside before retreating back into her room to prepare for the competition.

* * *

Inuyasha hung up his cell phone after ending his conversation with Kagome and walked downstairs to the kitchen. His half brother, Sesshoumaru, was already fully dressed and sitting down reading the morning newspaper while munching on a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.

'Business man eating a box of kiddy cereal. Damn, I wish I had my camera…'

"Morning Sess." he said, walking past him grabbing the box of cereal.

"Yasha." he muttered, not looking up.

"Did Kagome tell you about her competition today?"

"Yes. She asked me to tell you to behave yourself at this one. Apparently you threatened another girl with a licorice stick at the last competition." he smirked.

"Hey! That girl started it!"

"They always do." he replied, getting up to leave. "Be ready by 11:00. I don't want to be stuck in traffic."

* * *

Kagome put the finishing touches on her white and green school uniform and admired herself in the hallway mirror.

"Kagome! Hurry!" her mother called from outside, "You'll be late!!"

"Coming!" Kagome rushed back to her bedroom, grabbed her bow and arrows, ran outside and hopped into her mother's car.

"You're looking awfully nice for a competition." her mother commented.

Kagome blushed. "Well, you know… this is a big one. You want to leave a good impression."

Her mother raised an eyebrow before backing out and heading to the stadium.

When they arrived, it looked as if hundreds of people were bustling about trying to get good seats while the competitors wandered around trying to focus on one thing or the other.

Kagome gulped.

"Don't worry you'll do fine."

She looked up to see her mother smiling down on her.

"Souta and I are going to find our seats. I'll see you as soon as its over." she said, placing her hand on her shoulder, then walked off.

"Good luck, nee-chan!" Souta waved.

Kagome smiled and waved back..

'_Where are you Inuyasha???'_

She wandered around the stadium searching for the hanyou's unmistakable white hair and dog ears, but to no avail. Just as she was ready to give up, she saw a glimmer of white pass by the corner of her eye. She turned around to see long white hair walking toward the stadium seats.

"Taisho-kun!" she called, running over.

Sesshoumaru turned around and saw Kagome running towards him, her brown eyes shimmering in the sun.

She stopped and gave the youkai a small bow.

"Oh, hi Sesshoumaru!"

"Hello Kagome."

His voice sounded so mellifluous when he said her name. She shook her head. 'What the hell?'

"Have you seen Inuyasha? I have to be out there in less than 20 minutes and I haven't seen him anywhere! I really need someone to go back with me to prepare!! My team has no coach!"

Sesshoumaru placed his hand on her back and felt her tense up a bit. "Calm down, Kagome. Last time I saw him, he was off looking for more licorice."

She looked down slapped her forehead. "Yasha…" she growled.

Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"Why don't I go back with you? I don't want you being late."

Kagome gasped as she heard a faint bell ring. "Oh no! The first round is starting!" She grabbed Sesshoumaru by the arm and ran off to find her spot.

'_Damnit, Inuyasha.'_

* * *

The first round didn't go so great. Kagome couldn't keep her mind off Inuyasha and how mad she was at him. She let it get the best of her and missed the center of the target, nearly missing the thing entirely.

A chuckle came from the side. She looked over to see a girl with long jet black hair, obviously from another school, laughing at her.

"Silly girl can't even shoot properly."

Kagome felt her face get hot.

Sesshoumaru walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let her get to you Kagome. She's just trying to intimidate you."

Kagome looked back at the girl, who was still staring at her with a mock expression, as she walked over with Sesshoumaru to her team's bench. Sitting at the girl's bench was someone who looked very familiar. She squinted her eyes to get a better look. The person had on a red t-shirt, blue jeans, and baseball cap. Then she saw the hair.

"Inuyasha?!"

Immediately he looked up and an expression of horror spread across his face. "Kagome! I-uh…shit."

Kagome didn't know how to feel just then. Her best friend was helping the one girl who obviously hated her while he was supposed to be sitting in Sesshoumaru's spot.

Inuyasha ran over to her. "Kagome! I can- "

She held up her hand. "No. Save it. I have a competition to prepare for." Not once did she bother to look in his eyes.

Sesshoumaru glared at his brother. "Baka." he muttered.

Inuyasha walked back to the girl and sat next to her. Her red and white uniform skirt rode dangerously high up her legs.

"She's not your girlfriend, is she?" she asked him.

"No! Of course not! We're just friends."

* * *

Kagome bent over and held her head in her hands. She bit her lip, trying her best to suppress the tears she felt coming. There was no way in hell she was going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her cry, especially now.

Sesshoumaru placed his hand on her back and gently rubbed it.

"Kagome, Inuyashas an idiot. I know its hard, but you need to try and forget about this right now. You still have two more rounds to go through."

She looked up. "You're right. I can't let them bug me…"

She stood up and went to her mark for the second round. Again, the girl stood next to her.

"You know," she said, her red skirt blowing in the wind, "your little friend is pretty cute."

Kagome felt her body grow hot as a sudden rush of jealousy surged through her body. She bit down hard on her lip and clenched her mouth shut. Inside, her mind was screaming. Before she knew it, she let her arrow loose, missing her target completely.

"_No…"_

_

* * *

_

"Come on, Kagome, this is the last round, and I know how great you are with moving targets." Sesshoumaru tried comforting her.

"I can't do it! Not with that GIRL there!"

He couldn't stand to see her this miserable. He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Kagome, look at me." She felt herself blush a little. "I _know_ you can do this. The Kagome I got to know better these last three years never let dumb people like these ones get in her way. Just hit your target and you're done. I'll even take you out to lunch right after and we can laugh about it."

She bit her lip. His amber eyes looked dead serious. She had gotten closer to Sesshoumaru the last few years since he had come back from Sapporo to live permanently in Tokyo.

"Alright." she said, picking up her bow, "You're buying?"

He chuckled. "I'm buying."

She smiled and went over to her mark for the last time, doing her best to ignore that girl's taunts. She watched the timer count down.

3...

2..

1.

Five red disks flew into the sky. Using two arrows at a time, she shot every single one down, right in the center. The entire crowd burst out screaming and cheering. The judges were so impressed with her accuracy and speed, they gave her team extra points, bumping her school up to third place, the girl in red next to her received fourth place.

'_Well, at least that girl's school didn't get first.'_

* * *

**Annnnd I'm officially in love with writing this story. (And its only the first chapter... how sad)  
I'll explain the title later. It has nothing to do with poo. :)**

**LATA! **

**-VG-**


	2. I Forgive You I think

**HA! This story got wayyyy more hits for the first chapter than my last story did. :P 300 hits in two days._ Always_ got like... 20 hits the first week. haha Oh well. No more feudal era stories for me then. **

**ANYWAY, that alone made me pretty happy... even though I got two reviews. :cry: jk jk But it would be nice to get a few more so I know if I'm doing good or if I should just quit (even though I wont). Flames are welcome, too. I ignore them, but still, go for it. haha  
AND 11 ALERTS!! AWESOME!!! hahaha  
ok... GO! **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own shit. -.-+

* * *

**_Mistour announcer man! Refresh Chapter 1 for these viewers!!_**

**Announcer dude: CERTAINLY!  
We last left our brave protagonist in a fight to the death! Will her arrow pierce the bloody siren's heart? Or will she be forever trapped in the man eating worm dimension?!! TUNE IN NEXT TIME!! **

**_Ahem, wrong story... _**

_Five red disks flew into the sky. Using two arrows at a time, she shot every single one down, right in the center. The entire crowd burst out screaming and cheering. The judges were so impressed with her accuracy and speed, they gave her team extra points, bumping her school up to third place, the girl in red next to her received fourth place._

_'Well, at least that girl's school didn't get first.'_

* * *

After the competition, with her mother's blessing, Sesshoumaru took Kagome out to a nice, little, tempura restaurant in the heart of Tokyo. Kagome loved the refined atmosphere of the place and enjoyed the food even more so. It was a good thing she decided to look nice after all. The two talked and joked about almost everything that happened in the past year. He even told her about his new business which seemed to amaze her to no end. 

"You left Taisho Corp??"

"Haha, yes."

"And took over Crescent PC??"

Again, he laughed, "Yes."

"How?!"

"Easy. My father saw me as a successful vice president of Taisho Corp. and wanted Inuyasha to eventually do the same thing. He said if I could buy out Crescent, it was mine. So I did."

"So he basically told you to find another job while Inuyasha tries to take over yours?"

"Haha, pretty much."

"So what happened to Bankotsu and all his men?"

"Oh, they still work there. I just own _them_ now."

Kagome laughed. This was turning out to be a pretty good day.

"Tell me, Kagome, how's the senior life working out for you?"

Ok, maybe not. She looked down and stirred the red plastic straw in her glass of lemonade.

Sesshoumaru sensed her uneasiness. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

She looked back up at him. "Oh, no! Its okay… I just don't know. This year it feels like the weight of the world finally dropped on me. I didn't think it would ever happen, but my grades have been slipping, college is nearly impossible to pay for, and I think I just lost my best friend…" What a mouthful!

He placed his hands over hers. "We all seem to get beat up by the real world sooner or later. You'll get out of it. Trust me."

He smiled at her… well, it looked like a smile, anyway.

"Tell you what. After you graduate, I'll let you work for me. I'm sure we'll need a secretary somewhere - or I can just make one needed." he said, winking at her.

She didn't notice this as her face brightened up. "Really?!"

He smiled again. "Of course. The pay is excellent, you wont have to take out any loans for college, and you can now focus on bringing your grades back up."

Kagome felt her eyes begin to water. "Oh, thank you Sesshy-kun!!" she cried, jumping up and hugging him. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you!"

"Just don't call me 'Sesshy-kun.'"

She let go of him and thought for a second. "Hmm… no dice." she grinned. "I'll think of something."

---

Sesshoumaru dropped Kagome off at her family's shrine after they had finished their meal.

"Thank you for lunch, Sesshou. I really appreciate you going out of your way for this."

"Its no problem, Kagome."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stepped out of the car.

"And Kagome?" Sesshoumaru called to her as she turned toward the shrine, "Inuyasha is still an idiot."

She nodded. "I know."

He pulled out his wallet and handed her a business card. She looked at it.

"Fancy."

"Just call me if you ever need anything, alright?"

"Thanks." she smiled and walked off.

"Kagome! Who's black Jaguar was that??" Souta cried as soon as she walked into the house.

"Jaguar?"

He was almost shocked at her question. "The car you just came out of, baka!"

"Ohhh… that was just Sesshoumaru. He moved back here from Sapporo a few years ago, remember?"

Souta thought back in his memory. "Oh yeah…"

She rubbed the top of her brother's head and ran upstairs to take a quick shower. Her room was a mess. Make up was scattered all over her normally clean desk, various hair products thrown on her bed, even several lipstick covered tissues lay about the floor.

"I can't believe I did all this for nothing…" _no, wait. Sesshoumaru._

She turned her attention to her mirror. Taped to the bottom right hand corner was a picture of her and Inuyasha eating ice-cream together by a fountain. She remembered her mother had taken that picture nearly a year ago. The second she turned away, Inuyasha shoved his cone into Kagome's face and in return, she pushed him into the fountain. She laughed inwardly at this memory.

'_Stupid Inuyasha.'_

* * *

Inuyasha laid down on his white bed, after a long bus ride home, and looked up at his white ceiling. His ears perked up when he heard the front door to his father's mansion open and then shut. He walked out to see Sesshoumaru heading over to the living room to watch the television. 

"You know you could have AT LEAST driven me home!" Inuyasha growled at him, running down the stairs.

"Shut up, Yasha. You should be thankful I didn't do anything else to you."

"For what?!"

Sesshoumaru glared at him and stood up, towering over his younger brother.

"For what? For what?! You abandoned Kagome, your best_ friend, _for a girl you just met!"

"I have a good reason!"

"And I don't need to hear it." Sesshoumaru said, rolling his eyes and sat back down.

Inuyasha stormed over to his house phone and dialed Kagome's number.

"_Hello?" _a soft voice came from the other line.

"Hey, Kagome! Its me."

_- Click -_

"She hung up on me…"

"Like you don't deserve it." Sesshoumaru scoffed from the other room.

He growled and dialed her number again. After several rings, she finally answered.

"_What?!" _

"Listen, Kagome. I'm really sorry about what happened today."

"_You should be!" _her voice cracked.

"I didn't know Kikyo was going to be like that to you!"

"_So she has a name now?!"_

"Look, she was really nice to me, and her friend didn't show up, so I offered to help."

"_Much like Sesshoumaru had to do for me."_

"Exactly!"

"_Ass." _she muttered before hanging up again.

Kagome looked over Sesshoumaru's business card. At the top, the bold words "Taisho Crescent Law Offices" shone in a metallic blue color.

'Fancy… even changed the name.'

She turned the card over to see a phone number scribbled in black ink.

'Must be his house phone… no one ever puts those on business cards.'

Picking up her cell phone, she dialed the number and listened to several rings until her assumption was answered.

"You've reached the home number of Taisho Sesshoumaru. Unfortunately I am not able to answer your call -" She hung up.

'Yeah, that's his house.'

She made a mental note to herself to later ask him the hours she'd be able to call his cell phone without having to worry about interrupting him.

* * *

The next week at school was very stressful on both Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome had to deal with a furious archery team while Inuyasha tried desperately to get her attention. She hardly recognized his presence when he tried calling her name in the halls. That particular day, he noticed she wore a blue jacket he had given her for her birthday over winter break last year. 

'_You got me this sweater?!' she cried, giving him a big hug. 'They're at least fifty dollars! How'd you know??' _

'_You're my best friend, Kagome. I think I know one or two things about you.'_

_She laughed and kissed his cheek, making him blush a little. _

'_I'm so glad I have you as a friend. I don't know what I'd do without you.'_

'_You'd freeze to death in that old white jacket of yours 'cause no one was there to buy you this awesome blue one.' he laughed. _

Inuyasha's chest tightened as that particular memory came flooding back into his mind.

"Damn."

---

Kagome was sitting in her English class when her teacher made an announcement.

"Class, your eligibility marks will be posted this Friday. This will determine whether or not you will be able to participate in extracurricular activities as well as prom. The next one determines graduation. I must say I am very pleased with the majority of you, and I encourage the rest of you to seriously reconsider your study habits." She eyed the corner Kagome was sitting in as she said that last part.

"Now, that's out of the way, everyone, please pass up your essays."

Kagome's eyes widened. 'Essay?!'

By lunch, Kagome wanted nothing more than to get home. She seemed to have neglected her homework from all her classes and was definitely not ready to face her archery teammates. Then she heard Inuyasha calling out her name.

"Kagome!! Wait!!" He came running to her from across the soccer field.

Tired of hearing him call her name, she stopped walking and spun around. "What, Inuyasha?!"

He stopped and sighed. "I probably deserved that."

"You're damn right you do! There's no maybe about that one! What do you want?"

He looked up into her angry eyes. They looked so hurt. 'Man, I screwed up big time…'

"Kagome, I'm sorry."

Just as she was about to answer back, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her the biggest hug he could.

"These last few days were nearly unbearable knowing you wouldn't talk to me." he whispered in her ear. "Please, I don't want to lose our friendship."

"I don't either." she told him, eyes beginning to water.

"How can I make it up to you? I really want to fix this."

She let go and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You have good aim," she said, "I want you to come with me to archery practice next period and help out with the freshmen. Lord knows they need it."

"You got it! Thank you, Kagome." he said, giving her another hug.

"No prob. Now go buy me lunch. I'm hungry."

He laughed. "You'd be dead without me."

'Maybe.'

* * *

**Woot!  
Looks like they rekindled their friendship, eh? This is just the beginning. We still got a bajillion more chapters to go! **

**Reviews would be nice. :D **

**-VG-**


	3. We're Only Human

**Hellooooo! _U P D A T E T I M E_ **

**Man, I love seeing that hit number go up. Higher and higher :D  
_it'd be nice if the review number went up, too...  
_Oh well, can't have everything. **

**But thank you my lovelies who did! **(did I spell that right? I'm like... dead right now XD)  
**HERES YOUR NEXT CHAPTER!!! **

**D I S C L A I M E R :** I said it once, and I'll say it again: I don't own shit. Never have, never will, never plan to. This thing holds true from here on out... 'til the end of time... at least until fluffy monkeys start flying around claiming to be under my rule. Then I'll have the world!!! (_In due time, child... in due time...)  
_+-(-.-)-+

_

* * *

_

**L A S T T I M E : **

_"These last few days were nearly unbearable knowing you wouldn't talk to me." he whispered in her ear. "Please, I don't want to lose our friendship."_

_"I don't either." she told him, eyes beginning to water._

_"How can I make it up to you? I really want to fix this."_

_She let go and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You have good aim," she said, "I want you to come with me to archery practice next period and help out with the freshmen. Lord knows they need it."_

_"You got it! Thank you, Kagome." he said, giving her another hug._

_"No prob. Now go buy me lunch. I'm hungry."_

_He laughed. "You'd be dead without me."_

_'Maybe.'_

* * *

Sesshoumaru sat at his desk in the guest room to his father's house, working on his laptop. His own home was being remodeled and wouldn't be ready until the end of the month, so the room was his temporary home until then. As he stared into the glowing screen, he couldn't help but think of Kagome and how she had grown the past years. Realizing no work was getting done, he switched off the computer and rubbed his temples. 

'Kagome seems to be getting the rough end lately… my job offer should help her out a bit… ' The thought of the girl working behind a desk for him brought a smile to his face.

Unfortunately his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Inuyasha running around the hall chasing and cursing the little four year old, Rin. The tiny girl came sprinting into the room and jumped safely into his arms as Inuyasha came charging in, his face covered with splotches of black ink, no doubt from a permanent marker.

"What did you do to her now, Inuyasha?" he yawned.

"That damn kid jumped on me while I was sleeping! She's lucky dad knows her parents, otherwise she'd be long gone!" he huffed.

"Rin doesn't do anything unless she has good reason to. Don't blame her." Sesshoumaru sat Rin on his lap and held her close. He loved when she came to visit partly because she could torment Inuyasha and not get in trouble over it.

"When are her parents coming back? I want her gone."

She looked up at Inuyasha with tears in her puppy dog eyes.

"Why don't you talk??" he growled at her.

"Inuyasha!" Sesshoumaru snapped, "You do not talk to our guests like that. Her parents won't be back until next week, so I suggest you get used to her face being around here for the time being."

"Feh." Inuyasha turned and left the room, sticking his tongue out at the child before he slammed the door shut.

The phone rang.

"I got it!" Inuyasha yelled, running to the phone in the living room.

Sesshoumaru sighed and picked up the phone next to him on his desk.

"Taisho residence." He could hear Inuyasha yelling from the other room. Rin giggled.

"_He- Sesshoumaru?" _the other voice sounded surprised.

"Yes?"

"_It's me! Kagome. I thought you lived in your own place?" _

"I do. I'm just staying here until the end of the month while my house is being remodeled."

"_Bored with the look already?" _she laughed.

He chuckled. "You could say that."

"Gome!" Rin piped up. Sesshoumaru looked at her. Rin hardly ever talked, let alone listen in on telephone conversations.

"_Is that Rin?" _

The little girl heard her name over the phone and tried reaching for it. "Gome!" she yelled again.

"Haha, yeah. I think she wants to talk to you." He handed the phone to Rin who for the third time cried out, "Gome!!"

"_Haha. Hi, Rin! Are you being a good girl?"_

"Yeeeees. I color with In-Yasha for you."

Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"_Good, you behave for Sesshoumaru-sama. Ok?"_

"I will."

"_Alright. Before I go, do you think you can say my full name?"_

"Ga-ome."

"_Ka-go-me."_

"Ka- ….GOME!"

Kagome sighed. _"Close enough."_

Sesshoumaru laughed and took the phone from Rin. "She really likes you, you know."

"_Yeah, I know. All kids love me." _she smirked.

"Arrogant much?"

She laughed that sweet, little, laugh of hers.

"_Hey Sesshou, sorry to cut this short, but do you think you could hand the phone over to Yasha?"_

Now it was his turn to question. "I thought you two weren't on speaking terms?"

"_Well, we kinda fixed it. I promise I'll tell you about it later." _

"Alright. Let me get him."

"_Thanks. Hey! When would be a good time to call you?" _

"You can call my cell any time of day. I get home around six, but like I said, whenever you need someone to talk to, I'm always here."

"_Alright. Thank you."_

Sesshoumaru set Rin down and got up to find Inuyasha. Fortunately he didn't have to go far. As soon as he stood up, the hanyou came barging back into the room demanding he give him the phone.

"My friend!" He could be a bit possessive at times.

Grabbing the phone from Sesshoumaru, he walked out and slammed the door shut.

"What's up, Kagome?"

"_Hey Inuyasha." _She sounded depressed.

"Kagome? What's wrong?"

More than anything, Kagome hated admitting weakness. Unfortunately, she was at her lowest point.

"_How did you do on your eligibility marks?" _she asked him.

"Great! My math was a little low, but it was enough to pass me. How'd you do?"

If he was talking to the girl in person, he would have seen her face turn red from embarrassment.

"_I- uh… I couldn't get my grades up in time…" _Tears began to form in her eyes. _"I'm not eligible, Inuyasha. I can't go to prom or anymore archery competitions. Its all over." _she began to cry.

"Oh."

'Oh?! Is that all he can say?! Oh?!'

There was an awkward silence between the two. Kagome, realizing he wasn't going to say anything, broke it.

"_Anyway, I need you to stay with the archery team. They've all improved greatly since you came to help." _She sounded as happy as she possibly could, trying to pretend her tears from a few seconds ago never happened.

"Alright! I have no problem with that. I love the team."

"_Thanks, Inuyasha. I'll make it up to you somehow." _

She hung up the phone and placed her head in her hands. 'Baka, baka, baka! What could have made you even _think _he was capable of giving advice?! Let alone remotely care…'

"It isn't fair." she said aloud.

She refused to let herself cry again. To her, it was a sign of weakness, and she needed to be strong. She needed to take Sesshoumaru's advice and focus only on her studies now.

Someone knocked on her door. "Kagome?"

She picked up her head. "Yes, mom?"

"I almost forgot to tell you. Your boss called."

* * *

Naraku Onigumo was the owner of a budding karaoke bar/restaurant located right in the heart of Tokyo. He was also Kagome's pretentious boss. She worked for him for almost a year now and hated it. Sure, it was great getting free drinks and using the karaoke machine after hours, but he made her really uncomfortable and took it too far one day. It wasn't worth it anymore. She should have seen it when he passed by her on the street and asked if she wanted the job. Not many bosses hire their workers on the street like that, yet she thought nothing of it at the time. 

He sat at the giant rosewood desk in his office and went through the new menus. They were all perfect. He closed the one he was looking at and inspected the front cover. It was a pleather mahogany color with _Dai Mugen, _the restaurant's name, printed in big, gold, lettering.

"Kagura," he called from his office phone to his secretary.

"Hai, Mr. Onigumo?" came the female voice from the other end.

"The menus are perfect. Be sure to pay that Jakotsu person extra for designing on such a late notice."

"Yes, sir."

----------------------

"Mr. Onigumo called?"

"Yes, he wants you to go in for work this weekend from twelve to six."

Kagome sighed. She didn't want to work. She hardly got paid as it is and has been making up excuses the past month to avoid going.

"Fine. I'll go."

Her mother nodded. "Make sure you call him." She handed her the phone and left the room.

Kagome dialed several numbers on the phone and waited for an answer.

"_You've reached the cell phone of Taisho Sesshoumaru. Unfortunately I am unable to answer your call at the moment. Leave your name and number and I will return your call as soon as I possibly can." _

- beep -

_Figures… _"Hey Sesshoumaru, I guess this wasn't a good time to call. Uhm… I need to talk to you. Just call my cell phone when you can. Ok? Bye."

She hung up the phone, picked it back up, and made the one phone call she had been dreading.

"Hello, Mr. Onigumo? …Yeah, it's Kagome… I'll be there tomorrow… Yeah, ok… bye."

This was going to be a long weekend.

* * *

Kagome walked in through the front doors of Dai Mugen wearing her short black uniform skirt and shirt and took a deep breath. This wasn't exactly her most favorite place. 

"Kagome!" a female voice called.

She spun around to see Sango, one of her close friends, come running up to hug her.

"I didn't expect to ever see you here! I thought you quit after the uh… you know."

"Yeah, you'd think that, but I didn't really have a choice. I need money, and if it means coming back… here, then so be it."

"What?! You can easily find another job!"

She shook her head. "No."

"Ka-"

"No."

Sango put her arm over her friend's shoulder.

"Alright… at least I'm here with you now." she said, "It'll be okay."

"Thanks, Sango. I better let Naraku know I'm here before he throws a fit."

"Alright. You got the karaoke bar tonight. I'll see you later."

'Karaoke bar?' Kagome thought to herself as she watched Sango disappear.

"-but that doesn't open until three…"

She stormed over to Naraku's office, only to find him greet her with open arms.

"Kagome!" he started, "Its wonderful to see you after all this time. Tell me, how have you been?"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" she yelled, "I'm only here to fill my hours and nothing else."

"Of course." he replied.

"What are you doing making me come in at noon when the bar doesn't open until three??"

"It gets so boring in before then." he smirked.

"You have _no _right. I haven't done anything to you!"

Naraku smiled. "So you were able to stay quiet this whole time…"

"Only because of your dirty threats. Just give me my damn time card. I'm working from twelve to six, just like you said, and then I'm going home as soon as my six hours are filled. Nothing else."

He walked out from behind his desk to Kagome, who took a few steps back.

"You know, Kagome," he said, looking over her card, "I can always promote you. Kagura can easily get a new job."

She glared at him and reached out to grab her card. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her body to his. She felt his hand travel around her hips to her backside.

"_Mmm_… you don't want me to hurt your little friend now, do you?" His hand began to travel up her inner thigh.

She gasped, trying desperately to hold back her tears, but a couple slid down her cheek. 'Damn these skimpy uniforms!'

He felt a tear fall onto his arm and looked down at her.

"Shit. Why the fuck are you crying?!" He slapped her hard across the face, slightly cutting her cheek with his long nails in the process.

She took this as her opportunity to run out. So many things were running through her mind at the moment, she didn't care if the other customers saw her clothes disheveled or the tears falling from her red face. She just knew she needed to get home.

'But what about Sango? I can't abandon her. Yes, you can. No, I can't!'

Sango was talking with her boyfriend, Miroku, behind the bar when she saw Kagome run past them.

"Kagome?"

She and Miroku looked at each other and figured what might have happened. Miroku growled and went storming off towards Naraku's office while Sango went running off after Kagome.

Kagome nearly made it to the exit until she found herself running into the back of a business suit, face first, and fell backwards onto the floor.

The man turned around and saw a young lady, who obviously did not look good, and immediately recognized her.

"Kagome?"

She looked up and saw the blurry vision of an older man leaning over her. "Dad?"

"What? No. It's me…"

She squinted her eyes and saw long white hair, but it was immediately blurred by the tears forming in her eyes. "Sesshoumaru??"

He held out his hand to lift her up and she immediately grabbed a hold of him as if she were afraid someone would try to pull her away.

Sango came running up. "Sir, I am so sorry. Please forgive her. She-"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "It's alright."

Sango put her hand over Kagome's shoulder. "Kagome, what did he do?"

He looked at the girl next to Kagome. "What did who do?" he asked.

"Naraku…" Kagome breathed, "he… grabbed…his hands grabbed- "

Sesshoumaru clutched Kagome's shoulders and pulled her away from him, looking down into her eyes.

"Who is he?"

"Our boss." Sango told him, "He almost raped Kagome last time she was here. It looks like he tried it again."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "Kagome, why are you back here?! Did he rape you?!"

She shook her head. "He was going to get Sango if I didn't." she sniffed.

Sango looked like she was going to vomit. "Why didn't you just tell me??"

"He threatened to kill us both if I said anything." she cried.

Sesshoumaru looked up and saw Miroku standing at the door of what he assumed to be Naraku's office. "Wait here." he said and walked off.

He walked up to the open door and knocked on the frame.

"We are done here, Miroku." Naraku said, looking up at Sesshoumaru.

"No we are not!" Miroku yelled.

Naraku glanced at the young waiter.

Sesshoumaru walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Miroku, right?" he said, remembering Naraku saying that name.

He nodded.

"That waitress over there is looking for you." He pointed to Sango, who was standing with Kagome. Both girls were watching with worried faces in his direction.

Miroku nodded to Sesshoumaru and left, closing the door behind him.

Once alone in the room with Sesshoumaru, Naraku put on the best smile he possibly could.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru Taisho! To what do I owe the pleasure to be in the presence of one of Japan's leading business owners?"

"What is this I hear of you threatening to rape and take the life of some of your female employees?"

He was taken aback for a second. "Whatever do you mean? I treat all my employees as if they were my own dear children!"

"Cut the crap." he growled, "I have one of your employees out there crying, fearful for her own life. You have two seconds to explain yourself."

"That must be Kagome Higurashi. She is a compulsive liar and demands nothing but attention. I suggest you don't associate with her." he simply said.

"Not according to her friend, Sango."

Naraku growled. "What's it to you? Its not like you're her lover."

Sesshoumaru couldn't hold his stoic demeanor any longer. "And if I am?!" she shouted.

Naraku waved him down. "Kagome belongs to me. We simply had an argument."

"No decent gentleman would ever speak ill of his woman, let alone let her run out in tears in a public place like this." he growled.

"Some deserve it."

That was the last straw. He grabbed Naraku by the collar and punched him hard across the face.

"I will personally make sure this business doesn't survive to see the next month." he hissed and stormed out.

Kagome saw Sesshoumaru leave the office in a mild rage and wondered what happened. She walked up to him. "Sesshoumaru?"

"You weren't dating that bastard, were you?"

A look of horror spread across her face. "Oh God, no! Of course not!!"

"Good, then we can sue him and put him out of business for sexual assault."

Overcome with joy and tears, Kagome jumped up and hugged Sesshoumaru's neck.

"Thank you so much." she whispered, tears falling from her face.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and softly placed his hands on her back.

"Anytime."

* * *

**Ok, raise your hands if the end made you feel all giddy inside :D  
Makes me wanna go out and buy a qyoot little white puppeh! **

**_Dai Mugen - _**Great Dream/ Fantasy

**Review please? I promise to update sooner -evil grin- **

**-VG-**


	4. I Spy With My Leetle Eye

**HEY! **  
**25 alerts!! _Awesome.  
_I'm starting to love big numbers more and more. heh heh. **

**AND OMG!!! **-does fangirl scream-  
**more reviews!!! ahahaha I get amused so easily... _oh lord._ **

**OK, so... I've been getting messages on what the title means... I knew that'd come up sooner or later. But with me being the bastid I am, I'm going to make you all wait until that particular moment arrives. You'll prolly be disappointed, if not super confused, but hey, I didn't promise anything great. :P  
I will explain it's utter useless-ness and pointless-ness as best I can. **

**CHAPTER THREE SHOULD HAVE _PROVED_ THIS IS A SESSHOxKAGO ONE! (to some extent) no one screws kagome over and gets away with it!! **

* * *

_"Thank you so much." she whispered, tears falling from her face._

_Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and softly placed his hands on her back._

_"Anytime."_

* * *

A week passed since the incident with Naraku and all during that time, Inuyasha rarely left Kagome's side. He didn't allow any strange men around _his_ friend and was mentally beating himself up for not being around to protect her. Today he was sitting with her in a surprisingly empty park. The two were having lunch together on one of the benches by a small lake.

"You know," he said, looking over at her, "Sesshoumaru was able to get a few other girls to come forward and say Naraku did similar things to them."

Kagome looked down. "Wow…"

"Yeah. The Onigumo name is now blacklisted and soon he'll be going to jail. Sesshoumaru's pushing for at least twenty years. He's always hated Naraku."

She was shocked Sesshoumaru actually knew that pervert. "How did he know him?"

"He used to work for my father, but he really sucked at what he did. Something about low productivity and diminishing returns. Plus, he always tried to pick fights with Sesshou to try and prove he was better or whatever. Eventually he was just fired."

"Oh."

Kagome wasn't very hungry anymore. After hearing so much about Naraku, she became extremely nervous to the point where her hands shook. Now that she had to go to court to testify against him, she felt nothing but pure fear.

Inuyasha saw her hands twitching and placed his over hers. She calmed down a little.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah… I'm just really nervous, you know?"

"I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you, Kagome. I let you down so many times…"

She shook her head. "Inuyasha. It's okay. That's all in the past now. Things should be getting better now that winter break is coming up in a few weeks!"

She smiled at him as he looked down into her eyes. She just needed to forget everything and clear her mind. That was all. Without thinking, he pulled her close to him and held her in a tight embrace.

She loved his touch, his scent, the way he would kind of listen, despite his lack of good advice. She thought she could be herself around him, and although she never liked to admit it, her attraction towards him as more than a friend was getting stronger with each hug he gave her.

"Your hair smells good, Gome." he whispered into her ear.

'Huh?'

She felt his cheek touching hers. "Uh… thanks."

* * *

Back at school, everything was pretty normal. She was able to bring up her math grade from a fail to a D and was extremely proud of that alone. 

'Maybe I can graduate.'

She met Sango and Miroku after her classes were over each day and the three would always drive to the mall and wander around or visit the movie theatre. Inuyasha was always invited to join them, but he always seemed to be too busy. However, this upcoming Friday he promised he'd go to the movies with the three of them.

"Ok, Kagome. It's Thursday." Sango told her one afternoon as they sat in the food court of the mall, "Where's lover boy?"

Kagome looked up from the vanilla ice-cream she was enjoying. "What?"

"You're not that hard to figure out after a while. Plus Miroku and I saw you hugging that white haired guy when we came to pick you up yesterday."

"Yeah, we thought it was the guy from the restaurant, but this one was more short and scruffy looking. Who is he?" Miroku asked.

Kagome blushed. "Oh him. He's Inuyasha."

"How long?" Sango grinned.

Her head shot up. "How long what?"

"Have you been _dating._ Come on, Kagome. Keep up!"

"Oh… he's just my friend."

"You really like him, though. Don't you?" Sango asked her.

Kagome looked back down. '...I don't know.'

"Don't worry, we wont tell anyone."

"Yeah," Miroku said. "Plus, we want to make sure he isn't another Naraku."

"Trust me, he isn't!" Kagome told them, lifting her head back up.

"That's a relief." he replied, rubbing his hands along Sango's backside.

She gave out a little yelp and slapped his face. "Pervert!"

"Ahhh… my dear Sango," he said, rubbing his cheek, "Forgive me for showing concern for you well being!"

Sango just rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Kagome. Tomorrow we're going to the movies. Inuyasha's coming, right?"

She nodded.

"Good. We'll keep an eye on him and I'm sure by the end of the night we'll be able to tell whether he likes you or not. How hard can it be?"

Apparently it was extremely hard. To start off with, Inuyasha showed up half an hour late, forcing them all to get a later movie.

"No problem." Miroku said, "That gives us more time to get to know each other beforehand."

Sango smiled and nodded in agreement. "Right. So Inuyasha, how long have you known Kagome?"

"Hell… since we were kids. Our dads were friends and eventually started their own business together."

"Really? Kagome never mentioned your parents. That must be cool having your dads work together."

Kagome looked away.

Inuyasha shifted his feet and looked over at her. "Umm… yeah…"

Both Miroku and Sango looked quizically at them.

"Is something wrong?" Miroku asked.

Kagome quickly brightened up her face and looked back at them. "Of course not!" she said happily. "Who wants to hear about boring parents, anyway? Inuyasha, tell them about how you're helping me with archery."

Everyone already knew Kagome was great with archery and never asked for help. Something was up and either she didn't want to talk about it in public, or she just didn't want anyone knowing at all. She was awfully quiet the rest of the night and only talked a bit after the movie.

"Wow. That was seriously the single most disturbing movie I have ever seen." Sango said. "Who's idea was it to watch a horror movie in the middle of the holiday season?!"

"I believe that was Kagome." Inuyasha smirked, pulling her close as he said her name.

"Geez, you got balls, Gome."

Kagome blushed a bit, but what made her face turn red was when Inuyasha grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"That's my girl!" he said and smiled at her.

All she could do was laugh nervously while Sango and Miroku watched in amusement with two huge grins on their faces. She felt like she was on some kind of high… until he brought her down hard and fast.

"Whoa! He said, looking at his watch, "I gotta go now!"

"But its only 9." Kagome said.

"Yeah, but I forgot about something. And I still need to get ready for tomorrow's comp, remember?"

Kagome mentally slapped herself. She had completely forgotten about the archery competition that weekend. Of course, that didn't matter. She wasn't going.

"Oh yeah… good luck." she told him, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Don't worry, Kago." he said as he gave her one of his big hugs she had come to love even more.

"I won't."

He let go of her, said a quick goodbye to Miroku and Sango, ran off to his little red convertible and sped off.

"I think he likes you."

Kagome spun around to see a big grin on Sango's face. "You really think so?" she asked.

"Kagome, if that isn't love, I don't know what is."

* * *

**Yeah... filler chapter. Sorry about that. But they're all important!!! **

**The little bastard sure knows how to confuse the hell out of poor leetle Kagome. That'll change soon. **

_...I want 5,000 reviews in two days. If not, this story will never make it to see another chapter. CAPICHE?!  
__  
_hahaha I _hate_ people who demand a certain number of reviews just to keep their damn story up.  
"My world revolves around the approval and praise of a bajillion others!! I need other people to tell me I'm great!! _What?! Only two reviews?!!!_" -self destruct-  
...that'd actually be pretty cool to see...  
_**attention whores.**_

**Anyway, I'm done with my little spiel.**

**'Til the next update! **

**-VG-**


	5. Happy Birthday

**Oh man. Have I mentioned how awesome you guys are? Now I know my storys headed in the right direction.  
Inspiration struck me these last few days and I've been writing until the wee hours of the morning 'cause... thats the way things go. **

**ANYWAY, heres chapter 5. It gets a little emotional. **

* * *

**Last Time... **

_"Don't worry, Kago." he said as he gave her one of his big hugs she had come to love even more._

_"I won't."_

_He let go of her, said a quick goodbye to Miroku and Sango, ran off to his little red convertible and sped off._

_"I think he likes you."_

_Kagome spun around to see a big grin on Sango's face. "You really think so?" she asked._

_"Kagome, if that isn't love, I don't know what is."_

**moving on!**

* * *

_'Daddy, look at this one!' _

'_Very pretty Kagome! Do you know what that flower is called?'_

'_A cur-san-the… the…'_

'_Chrysanthemum.'_

'_Yeah, that!' _

_Kagome ran from her spot in the patch of flowers over to a tree._

'_That's a very old tree,' he said, walking up behind her, 'Its over 500 years old!' _

'_Wow…' She looked up and took in the sight of the tree, suddenly feeling a new admiration for the Goshinboku that resided at her house. A shocking realization swiftly hit her. _

'_Daddy! Guess what today is!!' _

'_Hmm… is it an important day?' _

'_Yes!' _

'_Is it oden Tuesday?!' he asked excitedly. _

'_Daddy!' _

'_Guess not._' _he frowned. 'Oh I think I know! Its your birthday, isn't it?' _

'_Yeah!!' she squealed in delight. _

'_So how old is my little tenshi today?' he asked lifting her up. _

_She thought for a second, then held up her hand. 'This many.'_

'_Five years old?! Already?!! My baby girl is growing up too fast for me.' _

'_I'm going to live forever! Just like the tree!' she pointed to the top of the tree. _

'_That's a long time.' _

_Wrapping her arms around his neck, she asked,_ '_Daddy's going to be with Kagome, right?' _

'_Right.'_

'_Forever?' _

'_Forever.' _

'_Promise?' _

_He laughed. 'Of course my little tenshi.' and hugged her. _

_---_

'_I need you to bring the cake back from the bakery. They just called and said it was finished.' _

_Kagome's mother was rushing around the kitchen, decorating the house for her daughter's fifth birthday party. _

'_Haha. Don't stress yourself out. I'll be right back.' He took his car keys off the table and kissed his wife goodbye. _

_---_

_Daddy was gone a long time. _

_The phone rang. _

'_Hello?_

_Mommy was on the phone and looked real sad._

'_Yes… on Hope Street?… room 104_..._ Ok thank you. Good bye.'_

_Kagome walked up to her mother. 'Mommy?' _

'_Grab your coat. We're going on a little trip.'_

_---_

_Kagome's mother twitched nervously in the elevator as it traveled up to the 10th floor. She, Kagome, and a two year old Souta walked into the hallway. A man in a white coat introduced himself._

'_Mrs. Higurashi?' _

'_Yes.' _

'_I'm Dr. Bankotsu. I suggest you see him now. He may not have much longer.' _

_Kagome walked up to her father. _

'_Mommy.' she looked up to see her mother with tears in her eyes, 'Why are all those strings inside Daddy?' _

'_Why don't you talk to him?' she nudged._

'_But he's sleeping.'_

'_Then grab his hand. He'll know you're here.' _

_Kagome smiled as her father's grip tightened around her tiny hand when she held it._

'_Come on, Daddy. Wake up. Its time to go home and eat cake.' _

_She felt his thumb move slightly over her knuckles before his hand went limp in hers._

'_Daddy?' _

_Flatline._

_

* * *

_

Kagome shot up in bed, gasping in labored breaths, sweat dripping from her forehead. She looked over at her clock radio and saw the numbers 1:06 blinking bright red. She looked down at her right hand, which was starting to suddenly feel really heavy and extremely dirty. It had been months since she last had that dream, and she thought they were finally over. Apparently not. She held her hands close to her heart and tried to calm down, but it was near impossible and before she knew it, she was crying.

She held her head in her hands, but quickly looked away in disgust.

"Its all my fault…" She needed to talk to someone. Anyone.

Picking up her cell phone, she went through her list of contacts until she found Sango's number. She was about to call when she realized it was one in the morning. No one was awake and Sango was one who really enjoyed her beauty sleep.

Suddenly she remembered what Sesshoumaru told her that one day he took her out to lunch so many weeks ago.

'_Call me whenever you need to.'_

Immediately, she searched for his number and dialed his cell phone. It only took two rings for him to answer.

"_Hn?"_

"Sesshoumaru?" she meekly said.

"_Yes._" he paused._ "Kagome?"_

She felt the tears swell up in her eyes again when he said her name.

"_Kagome, is something wrong?"_

"Its all my fault!" she finally cried out.

"_What? What's all your fault?" _

"He died because of me! If I hadn't asked for that stupid princess cake, he'd still be here!" she kept crying.

"_Kagome…" _He knew then she was talking about her father. He remembered going to the funeral as a boy and seeing Kagome in a little grey dress holding onto her mother's hand. She didn't seem to fully understand the concert of death back then.

"_Kagome, listen to me. I need you to take a deep breath."_

He could hear her gasping in between sobs trying to control herself.

"_It wasn't your fault he died. It was a car crash. It could have been anyone that drunk driver hit."_

"But he chose to hit my dad." She now felt her anger building up. "He promised he'd be here forever! He promised me!!"

Obviously this wound was a lot deeper than he thought.

"_I'll be over in ten minutes." _

* * *

He parked his car by her house and lightly knocked on her front door only to find it already unlocked. He stepped inside and found her silently crying on her living room couch, clutching something in her arms. 

"Kagome, what's going on?"

She didn't look up.

He walked over and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her tiny body.

"My father… he died the night of my fifth birthday… a few hours after he promised me he'd be here forever."

Sesshoumaru looked down and saw a picture frame wrapped in Kagome's arms. Her father's picture sat inside.

"And what makes you think he isn't?"

Kagome lifted up her head and looked at the man as if he hadn't heard a word she said.

"He's dead!! Naraku almost succeeded in raping me, my grades are at an all time low, I can't stay on the archery team and Inuyasha's been acting strange! Am I supposed to believe he's even watching over me?!"

He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her close in a comforting embrace as she cried on his shoulder.

"He wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to take me to my first day of school… and go with me to the father daughter dances… and keep his damn promise! What kind of father breaks a promise to his own child?!"

He held her tighter. "Kagome, no one could have prevented what happened that night. Its no one's fault. Not his, not yours, not anyone. And I know he didn't want to leave you or your family, but he had no choice. It was simply the fates intervening like they do to everyone."

She was silent.

"Do you really not think he's watching both you and Souta grow into young adults?" His voice was so soothing.

She shuddered after a few moments.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at her tear stained face.

Her eyes were a bit puffy and red from all her crying, but she seemed okay. Looking back up at him, she gave a limp smile.

"Thank you." she softly said, nestling her head back onto his chest.

'At least he can give better advice than Inuyasha ever has.'

Sesshoumaru sat with her for another hour until he was sure she was asleep. Laying down her fragile body, he took the picture frame from her arms and sat it on the coffee table. He covered her with her pink down blanket, kissed her cheek and silently left.

Somewhere in Lala Land, Kagome felt something soft touch her cheek and dreamt of being safe in the arms of a certain tall, white haired, youkai.

* * *

**Ok, on three. Say it with me!**

**1... 2... 3... AWWWEEEEEEEEE!!!! **

**God, that was hard to write.  
That little dream sequence up there killed me. Sorry Kago, but Daddy had to die. -sniff-**


	6. Two Sneezes

**Crap. I'm typing faster than I can write. You know what that means? -sniff- Updates are gonna be less frequent.  
**_Nooooooooooo...  
_**Don't worry... they shouldn't take too long... I hope.  
**(For those of you who don't know, I write out everything by hand before I type it out. Its an OCD thing... and you'd think my writing would look better by doing so, but lately my minds been running 1,000 miles a minute, so its all rushed. I'm pretty sure you can tell... I can. :( I'll try to re-read everything over and over before posting. Add less dialogue and more... whatever that other stuff was called. haha SEE?!!! I cant even remember half the terms I'm supposed to know!!! GAH!)

**I think I'm going insane. **

**OH! BEFORE I COMPLETELY LOSE IT, ONE MORE THING!!!  
Just a reminder... This story IS based off events from my life. (because its that amusing) I only made up a handful of things... like dad dying... my papi is still alive!! But I did have bad dreams like that when my grandparents died. Echk. So I didn't make the plot up or anything... its true ...to an extent. I'll prolly clarify a few things as the story moves along. **

**Ok, shutting up.**

* * *

_Sesshoumaru sat with her for another hour until he was sure she was asleep. Laying down her fragile body, he took the picture frame from her arms and sat it on the coffee table. He covered her with her pink down blanket, kissed her cheek and silently left._

_Somewhere in Lala Land, Kagome felt something soft touch her cheek and dreamt of being safe in the arms of a certain tall, white haired, youkai._

* * *

Kagome woke the next morning, cuddled up in her pink blanket, only to realize she had actually let Sesshoumaru into her home… at one in the morning… while her mother was quietly sleeping in another room upstairs, unaware of the event that took place.

'Wow.'

She laid back on the couch and stretched her body, kicking the blanket to the floor. Looking up at the white ceiling, she reminisced on everything he told her.

'…_I know he didn't want to leave you…'_

She closed her eyes and thought of the time her father took her to some father/daughter company picnic a few weeks before her birthday. It was her favorite memory of him. The two spent the day laughing, eating hot dogs, and playing a game or two. Her favorite game, however, was the target practice one.

'_Ok Kagome,' her father said, 'just grab the arrow, pull it back and let go.' _

_He was kneeling behind her as she awkwardly held the small bow and arrow in her tiny hands. Her stance was a bit goofy, but it was her first time. _

'_Hai, otousan!' she chirped, 'Like this?' She pulled the bow back further and looked up at her father._

_He nodded. 'Whenever you're ready, tenshi.' _

_Kagome turned her attention to the target ten feet away from her and aimed. Her arms were shaking, but he placed his hands over hers to help steady herself. Once he let go, the arrow flew from her hands landing right in the center of the target. _

'_Wah!' she cried, shocked. _

_Her father was ecstatic. 'You did it! Amazing!'_

_He picked her up and spun around, giving her a big bear hug, which sent her into a fit of giggles._

'_One day you're going to be the greatest archer in all of Japan!' _

'_No. The world!' _

Kagome opened her eyes. They were now filled with tears.

'Can't be great if you can't even pass basic high school classes.' she thought to herself, curling up in a ball.

"Nani! What am I doing?! I can't cry!"

She continued this inner battle with herself on the couch while her mother worked on getting breakfast ready in the kitchen.

"Kagome!" she called, "Breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay, Mama!"

Kagome jumped off the couch and ran to the bathroom to freshen up. If anything could get her out of bed in the morning, it was a freshly prepared breakfast... provided there was warm coffee nearby. Souta was already in the bathroom brushing his teeth, but she ignored his protests and kicked him out. Locking the door and turning on the faucet, she splashed warm water onto her face.

"Ahhh…" she sighed, "much better."

As she dried her face off with one of the fluffy white towels hanging on the rack, she immediately thought of Sesshoumaru and her dream last night. He was holding her like he did when he came over, but she wasn't crying. Instead they were sitting together... like a couple. That thought alone brought a smile and blush to her face.

'Wait. Don't I like Inuyasha?'

"Kagome! Hurry up!" Souta was banging on the other side of the door, tearing her away from her thoughts. "Mom wants to talk to you."

"Fine… hang on!"

She hung the towel back up on the rack and left the bathroom for the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi saw her daughter walk in and sit down at the table, pick up a pickle from one of the plates, and then put it into her mouth. She walked over and placed a mug of freshly brewed coffee in front of her and sat down, folding her hands.

"Kagome, you know today is the date of one of the court appearances you actually have to go to."

She grumbled. "I know."

"I want you to dress nice and answer everything they ask you clearly. We all know you're the innocent victim in this whole mess, but the judge and jury don't. You need to leave a good impression."

"Okay... You're not coming?"

Her mother shook her head. "I can't. Souta has a baseball game and grandpa and I are serving snacks. I know it seems like nothing, but I think you'd be more comfortable if I wasn't there to hear whatever may be said. I know it wasn't easy the first time."

She nodded. "Okay."

Smiling, Mrs. Higurashi stood up and went back to her cooking. "Oh, and Sesshoumaru called a couple hours ago. He'll be here to pick you up around one."

Kagome leaned back in her chair and glanced over at the clock. "Nani! Its 12:30!! I need to take a shower!! SOUTA!!!!"

She sprung out of the kitchen and locked herself in the bathroom, kicking her brother out for the second time.

"Gees. She's always late." he grumbled and went off to play video games upstairs.

One o'clock rolled around and Sesshoumaru arrived at the Higurashi doorstep right on the dot. Souta ran downstairs to let him in.

"She isn't ready yet."

"_I almost am!!" _she yelled from her room.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and saw Souta still looking at him. "Yes?"

"You wanna play video games?"

"Sure."

He grabbed his hand and led him up to his room where they spent the next twenty minutes playing Virtual Combat and Onimusha Warlords.

"You're really good at this!" Souta cried as Sesshoumaru unlocked various puzzle boxes and destroyed the animated demons. "I can't even get past this level and you're almost done!"

"I sometimes play the same games at home." he told him.

"Cool!"

"Ahem…" Kagome coughed from the doorway. "I'd hate to break this little bonding time you two are having, but we gotta go Sesshou."

He looked at his watch. "You're right." He looked over at Souta and pointed to the screen. "Keep up with that game. I got you stronger swords."

"Really?! Awesome!!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Geeks."

Kagome kissed her mother goodbye and bounced out the door. Mrs. Higurashi watched from the window as her daughter skipped out with Sesshoumaru to his to car and drive off. Five hours later, she watched that same daughter slowly clamber out of the car and into his arms where he embraced a red faced Kagome. He walked her up to the house and she ran upstairs to her room and locked the door.

"What happened?" she asked as he kept his gaze on the stairs.

"I wish I could tell you."

* * *

Kagome didn't go to school for a few days. Her mother knew something strange went on at the trial and allowed her to spend a couple days alone in her room, but she was later able to persuade her into going the day before winter break, just in case she was assigned any homework over the three month holiday. It was probably a good idea on Kagme's part. She needed to be around people and seemed to be in better spirits as she walked up the front steps to Sakura High to meet up with a few of her girl friends. 

"Hey, Kagome!" a petite, yet muscular, light brown haired girl called. "Where have you been all week?"

"Hi, Ayame. I had the flu over the weekend and I finally got over it... just in time for winter break."

"Sweet."

How Kagome was able to lie so naturally was a mystery in itself. She was a horrible actor and could never get through a school play without turning red in the face only to laugh a few seconds later.

"That's great, Kagome." another girl said, "Hojo brought some soup over to your house the other day. I don't know if you got it or not, but you should really thank him!"

She rolled her eyes. "I did, and I will. But that's it. He's better off dating someone like you, Ayumi."

Of course the girl got excited over Kagome's suggestion. "Really?!"

"Shut up, Ayumi. You know that's never going to happen!" Eri joined in. Both she and Ayumi liked the boy, but neither had the guts to tell him.

"Come on you guys!" Kagome yelled. "We'll be late for Math. You can fight over Hojo later." She walked off leaving the other girls chasing behind.

'No teachers to yell at me for three whole months! No archery stress bringing me down! No more court dates until January! Inuyasha and I will hang out more…'

She wondered if she would enjoy his company like she did with Sesshoumaru's. Ever since they went to the movies together, she saw him less and less. He always seemed to be gone during the week, and he said he devoted his weekends to the archery team. He never even answered her phone calls or replied to her messages. They hadn't spent any real time together at all.

"Class," Kagome's Economics teacher called as the last period of the day started, "this winter break, I am offering an extra credit assignment. Those of you falling behind, I strongly suggest you take advantage of this."

Kagome threw her head on the desk and groaned.

"Higurashi."

She looked up, her teacher glaring at her.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, Kaede-sensei. Sorry." she said, blushing.

"Good. Now, for the assignment… You are to find a prominent business in this area and interview one of it's employees. And I don't mean the janitors or the other utility workers. The actual people who work _with_ the company to bring in the money. After you interview them, you are to write a three page, double spaced, essay describing the challenges the person you interviewed faced in rising to the position they are in now. This is 500 points, students. Do not let this pass you up!"

A hand shot up. "How prominent must the business be?"

"It can be anywhere from the budding Dai Mugen to Higura- excuse me, Taisho Corp."

"What happened to Higurashi-Taisho Corp?" another student asked. Kagome sank down in her chair.

"It became Taisho Corp. the day Mr. Higurashi died. His share of the stock was mysteriously taken away and all his wealth disappeared. No one is certain how it happened."

"So there's no money left?"

She wanted to die.

"No, there was still enough for his family to survive off his retirement, and I'm sure the Taishos help out as well. But that's a different subject. Moving on, has anyone seen the news lately on the recent events concerning Dai Mugen?"

Several hands shot up and the class spent the remainder of the period discussing the lawsuit on Naraku. No one knew Kagome was the one who filed it.

* * *

After school, much to her suprise, Inuyasha met up with Kagome and offered to walk her home, which she greatly accepted. 

"So what are your plans for winter break, Kags?" he asked, jumping on fallen leaves and smiling whenever one gave a nice crunching sound.

She thought silently to herself. "You know… I have no idea. I'm not allowed to go to the archery comps anymore, and I'm pretty much out of a job now."

He stopped jumping and looked up at her. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." she waved it off, "By the way, hows the team doing?"

Thankful for a change in subject, he replied, "They've improved so much! They're all definitely ready for the next two comps before the new year."

She smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

"You should really go, Kagome. Just to watch at least."

She went silent and looked down. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"In a way, I feel like I let my father down… and now the team. It doesn't seem right."

He lowered his voice. "Oh… I'm sorry."

"Its alright." she smiled.

The two continued to walk until they came up to the Higurashi shrine.

"Thanks for walking with me, Inuyasha." she said, turning to him.

"No prob."

He opened his arms to hug her, which she seemed hesitant to do at first. She liked the way his arms felt around her, the way her body seemed to mold into his… but something was missing.

"Your hair smells good, Kagome." he said softly into her ear.

She opened her eyes in confusion, but then saw the white hair. It was a little messy, but it was still white nonetheless. It reminded her of someone else, which caused her to give a suppressed giggle.

"Thank you."

Letting go of her tiny body, he gave her a peck on the cheek and walked off to his home.

"I'll call you this weekend!" he called, waving back to her.

She smiled and waved back with one hand while the other held the spot on his cheek where he kissed her.

* * *

Two weeks went by and Kagome never got that call. Of course, she told herself to think nothing of it. Inuyasha was a guy, and guys seemed to forget everything, right? 

"Why don't you just call him?" Sango told her one morning as they were sitting by the window in one of the local tea houses.

The two girls developed a daily routine of going out for tea in the morning and all their conversations seemed to mostly be about Kagome's supposed budding relationship with Inuyasha. She never really brought Sesshoumaru up. She never wanted to.

She shook her head. "Its not that important."

"Oh Kagome, please! Everyday its 'Inuyasha this' and 'Inuyasha that!' You're in love with him!"

"So what if I am? All the more reason for me not to make the first move."

Sango smirked at her. "If you wont, I will." She then grabbed Kagome's phone and began search her list of contacts until she found his number.

"No! Sango!!" but she just held up her finger, silencing Kagome.

"Moshi moshi? Inuyasha! Oh, I'm fine. Kagome and I were just talking about you. She's with me right now if you want to talk to her. Hang on."

Kagome took the phone from Sango, red faced.

"H-hello?"

"_Hey Gome!"_

"Hey Inuyasha. What's up?"

"_Nothing, just sitting here watching TV. Sesshoumaru says hi."_

She smiled. "Tell him I said hey."

"_He's moving out next week before the archery comp, you know."_

"Really? Finally!" she laughed.

She heard Sesshoumaru chuckle over the other end.

"_Yeah. I couldn't be any happier. That Rin kid will finally be gone." _

"What do you mean?"

"_I didn't tell you? Her parents died a couple weeks ago."_

"What?! How?? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"_Gees, calm down. We're taking care of her. They were on that plane that crashed on its way back from New York."_

"I saw that on the news. They didn't make it seem so serious…"

"_It wasn't for most of the passengers. But her parents just happened to be sitting in the front, and I guess that part took the most damage. She got to see them in the hospital. I don't think she understands what really happened, though she does keep calling Sesshoumaru 'daddy.'"_

"It affects everyone differently."

"_I know."_

"So she's going to be living with Sesshou from now on?"

"_Yeah, he figured he may as well adopt her since she already thinks he's her dad. He's too soft."_

"That's good. Make sure you tell her Kagome says hi."

"_I will. Anyway, I gotta get going soon. Today's that trial comp before the big one next week. Did you know Miroku's been working at the stadium organizing the teams? He's one of the refs." _

"I didn't." she glared at Sango.

"_Really? I thought Sango might have told you… oh well. I gotta go, though."_

"Okay."

"_It was nice talking to you. I'll see you at school. Bye!"_

"Bye..."

Kagome silently hung up the phone and didn't know how to react. Rin had lost both of her parents, and according to Inuyasha, she was unaffected by it. Sango never said anything about the competition, and Inuyasha acted as if nothing was out of ordinary. No apologies for forgetting to call, no empathy for the girl, and apparently he didn't plan on seeing her until March when they returned to school.

But then she remembered Sango.

"Why didn't you tell me Miroku saw Inuyasha at trials?"

Sango went red and looked down.

"Kagome… I didn't want to say anything that might hurt you."

* * *

**This chapter is slightly better.  
I know one of the previous ones had so many mistakes on it, it pissed me off. But its already uploaded and I don't care at this point. If you read it, thats how it's staying. I hate repetition. I'm tired and cranky:(**

**ooo yeah, prepare for a buttload of drama, betrayal, and all things unholy!!! **

**-VG-**


	7. I Know, Stupid

**Man, am I tired. Finals week is FINALLY over. This story is getting to me more and more. There are times where I just want to throw it out the window and cut right to the juicy stuff, but no... I will not give in!! I read this chapter over five times. This was the best I could fix it. ENJOY**

r&r?

**And of course I forget to mention something...two somethings...1. NEW STORY! _Telling Secrets to Strangers. _I might post it in a few days. It'll be updated ever so slowly so I can focus on finishing this one. 2. I just got an account thingy on A Single Spark. (yes, I conformed. -.-) Pen name is the same, go ahead and look for me. You know you want to. **

* * *

_"Why didn't you tell me Miroku saw Inuyasha at trials?"_

_Sango went red and looked down._

_"Kagome… I didn't want to say anything that might hurt you."_

**Let the drama begin!**

* * *

"He what?!" 

"Kagome! Calm down. We're still in the tea house."

Kagome growled and stood up, knocking the chair over behind her.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she shouted, slamming clenched fists onto the tabletop.

"Because we weren't sure! That Kikyo girl is weird."

She pressed her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo! What does she have that I don't?!"

"Kagome, nothing is even certain. You're probably just overreacting over nothing." Sango went up and placed her arms around frantic girl, trying desperately to prevent her from causing a scene. "Besides, the way he acts around you, you'd think he was a lovesick puppy."

Kagome looked around at the other customers staring at her and realized she had indeed began to cause a little scene. "Maybe you're right…" she said, her voice lowered.

Sango smiled and took her by the arm, leading her outside.

"Can you at least tell me what you saw?"

She thought for a moment. "You have to promise you wont overreact, okay?"

"I promise." It sounded more like she just wanted Sango to hurry up, though.

She sighed, "Well, at last week's practice, all the teams met up, and Kikyo was around Inuyasha as usual."

She paused to look at Kagome, looking for some kind of signal to continue, but the girl's expression told her to hurry up.

"Anyway, everyone was on a break… so Kikyo saw it as her opportunity to go up and seduce him. Of course he's just plain stupid and blind to any kind of advances and he'll never- "

"Sango!" Kagome shouted. She was going off on a tangent.

"Sorry." she replied. "So… uh… yeah! Kikyo went up and started talking with him and you know, did all the things girls do to get guys attention... like playing with their hair, giggling at nothing… so she grabbed his hand and, well, he started a thumb war."

'That was OUR game.' Kagome's mind hissed.

"But at the end of the day... he gave her a big hug annnnd… shekindofkissedhischeek." she made sure she said that last part fast in hopes Kagome wouldn't catch it. Whether or not she did, Sango wasn't sure.

"I see…" she replied. Her voice held no emotion. "Thank you, Sango."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. We'd know if they were dating, wouldn't we?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

Kagome smiled and said good-bye to Sango, wanting nothing more than to go home and take a nap. A nice week long nap... with maybe a little bit of help from a vodka bottle.

"…he didn't even mention Kikyo…" she mumbled sourly to herself. She continued sulking to herself keeping an even pace with each step she took.

It was nearly noon, but the days were getting much colder. In a week or so, it would begin to snow. A gust of wind blew past her, sending shivers up her spine. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of wearing a small blue mini skirt with a tiny yellow hoodie that morning. None were a match for the weather she was experiencing at that moment.

"Hey! Kagome!" a boyish voice called from behind her.

She spun around to see a rather attractive guy with long black hair tied up in a ponytail and vibrant blue eyes come running up to greet her.

"Kouga-kun!" she gasped, surprised, "I didn't know you lived near here."

The two were childhood neighbors, but he moved out with his family a few years ago, breaking their month long relationship.

He finally caught up to her. "Hey Kagome! How's my woman?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'm fine, but I'm not your 'woman,' Kouga, remember?" she said, pushing him away.

"Right. Sorry."

"Its okay. What brings you back to Tokyo?"

"I just came to visit for the day. You know, Nagoya isn't that far away."

"That's great!"

Another gust of wind blew past, causing Kagome to shiver even more. Kouga noticed this and placed the jacket he was wearing over her shoulders.

She looked up at him. "Thanks Kouga."

"No prob. But you really should get some new clothes." he told her, looking over her body. She was so perfect.

"Um… yeah. I was going to get around to that before Christmas." she told him, trying to cover herself.

He had an idea.

"Why don't you come back with me to Nagoya today? We can go to that new underground mall. I think its called Oasis 21. They have a lot of cool things there."

That offer was too good to refuse. Kagome had always wanted to visit that mall ever since she heard so many good things about it, but going there with Kouga would have been too weird. Going out with him was like agreeing to get married then and there, and she didn't want to get romantically involved with him… again.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Kouga. I'd love to go, but I have a whole lot of work to do at home. Maybe we can go next week?" _'Heh heh. Kagome you dirty liar.'_

He smiled. "Alright then. But I'll hold you to that."

_'Damn.'_

He gave her one last hug before giving her his phone number and walking off.

She watched him from behind as he made his way down the block. Just as he was about to turn the corner, she suddenly remembered she still had his jacket over her shoulders.

"Hey Kouga!" she called, "Your jacket!"

"Keep it!" she heard him yell before disappearing.

"Umm… ok."

'Kougas a good friend,' she thought to herself as she continued to walk down the street, 'but he's too weird. I'd date him in a heartbeat if he didn't always try to claim ownership on me…'

She continued walking with these thoughts running through her mind for another half hour until she realized she was nowhere near home.

"Huh?" she said to herself, looking up. "Where am I?"

The scenery around her was no longer the familiar buildings and street signs of the city, but instead a small road surrounded by trails of sakura trees. Unfortunately it was also starting to snow.

'Greeeeat,' she thought, 'all I need now is a car to come speeding by to splash ice cold water on me while I wander around aimlessly to try and find my way home!'

Of course, two seconds later, a small, black, Jaguar came speeding by, hitting a puddle that seemed to be strategically placed right next to her, splashing her from head to toe.

She screamed in frustration. "Watch where you're fucking going you fucking moron!"

The car quickly stopped and sped in reverse towards her.

'Crap.' She closed her eyes tight, thinking it would somehow make her disappear. 'Crap, crap, crap, crap...'

"Who's the moron now?" a silky voice mused.

She peeked through one of her eyes to see where the voice was coming from before her face burned red from embarrassment.

"Sesshoumaru?!" she jumped back.

He was smirking at her.

"I- I… Damnit, I'm so sorry!"

He chuckled, taking in the sight before him. Her slender body in that small skirt, tiny hairs standing on end, her hard nipples barely visible through that thin sweater… she was perfect.

"Get in the car, Kagome." he told her, unlocking the door.

"You aren't going to hurt me?"

"Of course not. I can tell by the way you look, you've had a hard day… and I have a nice warm blanket and heater… in… here…." His eyebrow shifted.

He had her at 'warm.' Not even a full second passed when he heard the car door slam shut and saw Kagome grabbing a blue fleece blanket from the backseat.

Wrapping it around her body, she looked up at him. "Well?"

He was just staring at her. "Comfy?"

"Very."

"Good. Lets go." He put the car in gear and sped off down the road towards his father's mansion.

After several moments of silence, he spoke up.

"So, who was that guy?"

She snapped her gaze from out the passenger's window to his face, which was staring intently at the road ahead.

"Wh-what guy?"

"Kagome."

She looked down and blushed. "You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Alright."

"You promise?!"

"Yes, I promise." he said, annoyed and almost regretting he asked.

"His name is Kouga." she said.

"Alright. I promise I'll never tell anyone you know a guy named Kouga… and from the way he looked, its probably a good idea." he smirked.

"Sesshoumaru! You didn't let me finish."

"Gees, Kagome. This must be serious. You know I'm only joking."

She looked back down. "Yeah… I know…how long were you watching anyway?"

"Long enough to pass by to get something from my office and still see you with him as I left to go buy groceries." He never took his eyes off from the road.

She was silent, deciding whether or not she should continue. His tone sounded so mad and hurt. Saying something wrong was the last thing she wanted to do to him.

"He… he was my first boyfriend."

Sesshoumaru felt something tug at his chest when she said that, but said nothing. He nodded for her to continue.

"Umm… it wasn't a very good relationship. He always went off and did his own thing and pretty much ignored me until he felt the need to makeout. I let him do that for about a week before I decided I didn't want that anymore… but I spent a month trying to figure out the best way to end it... Pathetic, huh?" she scoffed.

"Not at all. You were just scared. I wouldn't even consider that a real relationship."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Really. So how did you end it?"

"His family decided to move to Nagoya, so it ended there."

"And no one knows about him?"

She shook her head. "They've only heard of him. No one knew he was my boyfriend, though… Except you now. As far as they know, I've been single my whole life."

"Even Inuyasha?"

She nodded.

"I see… so why tell me?"

"I don't know." she shrugged. She honestly didn't. "I just feel like I can trust you."

He nodded.

The rest of the drive was silent. Sesshoumaru knew Kagome was hiding something else. A little run in with an ex would not have made her that mad, and he intended to find out what it was that did. He pulled up to the driveway and turned off the engine.

"Come on inside," he told her. "I can get you some dry clothes and you can help me load a few of Rin's belonging's in here."

She nodded. "Is Inuyasha there?"

"No." he replied immedieately. "He left for the competition already."

That was only partially true. Inuyasha really wasn't there, but he left to go see that annoying Kikyo girl. Sesshoumaru didn't want to tell that to Kagome. He noticed a little pained expression in her face and figured what must have been bugging her.

"Come on, Kagome. Lets get you out of those wet clothes."

She nodded and grabbed his extended hand, helping her out of the car. He led her to his room and handed her a grey t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"I know they're a little big, but its better than nothing."

She smiled at him. "I'd hug you, but... I'm wet." she giggled. _'Haha, I said wet...'_

He nodded. "Go ahead and change in my bathroom. I have a feeling Inuyasha left a mess in the other one."

"Thank you." she said, and walked into the bathroom connected to his room, locking the door behind her.

He sighed and sat down on his bed and stared intently at the boxes stacked against the wall. Half of them contained his belongings while the others held Rin's. His whole week was dedicated to checking in on his house and packing, that he didn't have much time to spend with the little girl, let alone think about Kagome's case. As soon as he was settled in his new home, that should all change.

'I'll be out of here by Friday.'

"Sesshoumaru…"

He turned around to see Kagome, now in his clothes, holding a sleeping Rin. The way she held her would have had anyone assume she was the girl's mother. If he had a camera with him, he would have taken a picture of the little scene, capturing the moment forever.

"I found her sleeping in the bathtub."

He smiled and walked over to her, taking Rin out of her arms and placing her on his bed. "Shes always had a strange obsession with sleeping on porcelain surfaces. She does the same thing on the kitchen counter when Jaken prepares her breakfast."

"Has she ever said anything about her parents?" she asked.

"No. They weren't bad parents, she just never saw much of them. All those business trips and stuff. They were just another face to her."

Kagome sat next to the sleeping child and began to stroke her hair. "Does she really think you're her father?"

"That's what she's been calling me lately. I don't mind."

Rin mumbled in her sleep. "Mommy…" She rolled over and grabbed Kagome's arm.

Sesshoumaru chuckled when he saw Kagome's face turn red. "I told you she likes you."

"Y-yeah." She felt her insides flutter when he looked at her.

'What's wrong with me?! Why am I blushing?? I can't like Sesshoumaru... can I?'

He sat next to her on the bed and watched in humor as she pretended to act busy with Rin, combing her hair out of the way or trying to straighten her clothes. It was kind of amusing, in his opinion. His hand brushed slightly against hers and slowly found it's way to rest across her knuckles. Her hand twitched a little, but she didn't pull away or tense up. In fact, she seemed to visibly calm down… as if she were relieved.

"Sesshoumaru…"

He looked down and met her eyes with his. Her mouth slightly twitched.

"I…"

From the other room, they could both hear the front door slam shut, ruining whatever Kagome was about to say.

"_Wait there, Kikyo! I need to change my shirt." _

Inuyasha came running down the hall and burst into Sesshoumaru's room.

"Hey, Sesshou! I need- Kagome? What are you doing here? …In those clothes??"

Kagome pulled her hand away. "I- I... need to dry... uhh... clothes."

She ran off to the bathroom to retrieve her wet clothing laying on the floor and into the washroom where she slammed the door shut.

'Damnit, damnit, damnit! What the hells wrong with me?!'

She pounded her fists on top of the dryer as it roared with her clothes tumbling around inside.

After a few minutes, she heard Sesshoumaru come knocking on the door. "Kagome, open up. It's me."

She opened the door enough to be able to peek out. Kikyo was giggling while Inuyasha was pushing her out and telling her to shut up. Her view was suddenly blocked by Sesshoumaru's chest.

"Kagome,"

He walked inside and closed the door softly behind him. "Are you okay?"

She couldn't look in his eyes. Her emotions were playing games with her and she didn't know what she might do if she looked at him.

He sighed after several moments and wrapped his arms around her. "He was only giving her a ride." It was a lie. She knew it was a lie. But for some reason it made her feel a little better.

She shuddered before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know."

* * *

**She knows what??? ..._exactly._**

**Review if you want. Or tell me something you'd want to see in here... EXCEPT LEMONS. I know you want to see those... I'll get one up eventually. Hell, if you want to write one for me, I'd be more than happy. haha**

**'til then,  
-VG-**


	8. Psalm 88

**Its been almost a week. I think you've suffered enough. heh heh. I'm working on a lemon!! It sounds bad... but like I said... I'm working on it! haha**

**Writer's block sucks ass.  
This 'chapter a week' thing seems to be working for me pretty well, though. **

**Thankies to all you lovely reviewers! Many of you actually succeeded in making me LAUGH OUT LOUD. I'm pretty sure y'all know who you are. (y'all is the word of the day, if you didn't know. _...its my word of the day, anyway!_) And YES, I LOVED your ideas and such. The plot'll be similar to what y'all said, but with my own little twist put into it. Keep reviewing. They make me smile.  
:D**

* * *

_He sighed after several moments and wrapped his arms around her. "He was only giving her a ride." It was a lie. She knew it was a lie. But for some reason it made her feel a little better._

_She shuddered before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder._

_"I know."_

* * *

The weeks slowly passed. Each day seemed to go by slower than the last, yet seemed to catch everyone by surprise as a new one began. Christmas came and went. Sesshoumaru was now living in his newly refurnished town home with an extra room specially designated for Rin, designed and furnished with the expert feminine help of none other than Kagome. She hadn't heard anything from Inuyasha since the day she saw him bring Kikyo over. His phone always seemed to be turned off and he was never home. New Year's eve was a week away, and she was to call him to invite his family over to her family's annual New Year's party at the shrine. The whole Taisho family was always invited, along with many other families, but with his father still distraught over the recent passing of Inuyasha's mother, and Inuyasha's odd behavior, it seemed as if only Sesshoumaru and Rin would show up. She was totally fine with that. The two came over to visit during Christmas and while Rin and Kagome had fun in the kitchen downstairs, Sesshoumaru kicked Souta's ass at those Virtual Fighter video games. 

She dialed the Taisho mansion early that morning in hopes that she might actually get to talk to Inuyasha for once.

'He has to be home. Its only 9 o'clock in the morning.' she thought to herself, pacing around; her white socks pressing softly along the hardwood floor of her room with each tiny step she took.

A deep, baritone, voice answered the phone. _"Hello?" _

As if on command, she answered, using the most polite voice she could manage. "Ohayo gozaimasu, Mr. Taisho. This is Kagome Higurashi. How are you?" She thought she sounded more like an automated voice than an actual human being.

His voice instantly went from dark and commanding to casual and soft. "_Ah, Higurashi-chan! It is most wonderful to hear from you. I'm doing well. And you?"_

"I'm good," _'Well, that sounded smart.' _"I was just calling to remind you about the shrine's New Year's party. Do you think you might attend?"

"_Of course! You mother prepares the most excellent food. I think it would be a nice transition for both Inuyasha and me since Izayoi's death. The two of us will be sure to make it." _At least he sounded more happy than usual. That was a good sign.

"That's great! And again, I'm really sorry to hear about her passing. She was a wonderful woman."

She heard him sigh. _"She was. But life goes on. Six months of grieving is more than enough."_

"That's good. I'm glad you're being positive about it.."

"_I learned from the best. If I can watch you do it, then so can I." _

She laughed. "Haha. I guess. Hey, I'm sorry to cut this short, but do you think I could speak with Inuyasha real quick? Or is he not home?"

"_Oh, no. He's here. Hang on a moment."_

Kagome sat on her bed in complete silence. The only noise she could hear was the shuffling and conversing voices on the other line. 'Is he really going to answer the phone? After all this time…'

"_Hello?" _the voice came from the other end.

"Uh…" Suddenly her mind went blank. She didn't know what to say or even why she called in the first place.

"_Kagome?" _

"Uh… hi." was all she managed to get out.

"_Hi. What are you doing?" _

"Oh… um, nothing."

"_Cool. You want to hang out today?" _His voice was casual and friendly, much like his father's only not as deep and a bit more... distracted, if not apathetic. She couldn't understand why he was acting as if nothing were wrong.

'Maybe its just me.' she thought, sighing to herself before agreeing to see him.

"_Awesome. I'll meet you at the mall in an hour."_

* * *

"Its been a while. What have you been up to, Kagome?" 

The two were sitting in a busy food court discussing their recent winter plans and activities. So far Inuyasha never mentioned the archery competitions or that Kikyo girl.

"Eh… nothing." She paused. "Sesshoumaru offered me a job, you know. I'll be working for him by July."

He appeared uninterested. "That's cool." he said before taking another drink of his soda. His mind seemed to be elsewhere and only proved it was when his ears perked. "Hey! You're a girl! Is it good to give someone you've known for a while a necklace?"

Kagome sighed. 'He doesn't care what I say.'

"I guess so. Do you like her?"

He smirked. "I'll find out."

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her off to the nearest jewelry store in the mall, practically running past and dodging all the people surrounding them. The whole way, he was trying to describe her… and not doing a very good job at it.

"I know her favorite color is red…"

That was Kagome's favorite color.

"and she has long, black hair…"

She grabbed a lock of her hair and inspected it. 'Just like every other girl in Japan.'

"…and her birthday is coming up."

'Hey, wait. So is mine!'

Her face nearly lit up. She didn't know of any other girls Inuyasha talked to that had a birthday the same month as hers. Maybe he really did care and this was his way of showing it.

"Which necklace do you like, Kagome?" He pulled her over to a nearby display case seated in a very expensive looking jewelry store and placed his arm around her shoulder. She studied each necklace one by one until she came upon a beautiful, thin, silver necklace with a bright red ruby heart laying in the center.

"That one." she said, pointing to it.

He motioned to one of the workers and asked how much it was.

The person merely glanced at him and mumbled, "500."

Kagome's face dropped but Inuyasha seemed undaunted.

"I'll take it."

"Inuyasha!" she whispered. "that's too much! Lets go look in a different store."

He smiled at her. "Its perfect, Kagome."

She didn't know what to say. Whenever he wanted something, he got it. No one could ever change his mind.

He pulled out his debit card, much to the salesperson's surprise, paid for the necklace, and walked with Kagome out the store.

"I hope you know what you're doing." she told him, heading them toward a fabric store.

"What are we doing here?" he asked her, eyeing the different colored fabrics as if they were deathtraps.

"I need to make a new kimono for the new year."

"Why don't you just buy one?" He hated shopping. He especially hated the fact that she preferred spending hours cutting out and sewing something together, when she could easily go out and buy it ready made in two minutes.

"Because I only have forty dollars and to get a good one will be at least sixty." She knew he didn't enjoy waiting around for her to buy cloth. He proved that two years ago when she left him alone for two minutes to buy a clothing pattern only to come back to find him building himself a fort made of cloth and ribbon. That didn't make the store owner very happy.

"Oh. You should make a green one." He picked up a light green bolt of silk cloth with butterfly stitching.

She took one look at it and then brought her eyes up at Inuyasha to see if he was really serious. He was.

"No, Inuyasha."

Walking down the rows of ugly silk colors and patterns, she began to think that maybe buying a cheap kimono wasn't that bad of an idea until she came upon a bright red one. It had small pink sakura blossoms at the selvages.

"I want this one!" she cried.

She picked it up and inspected it, making sure the bolt had enough cloth for her to work with.

"Kagome, how many yards do you need?" Inuyasha asked her from a few feet away.

"About three. Why?"

"Put it back."

She shot her head back and glared at him. _"Why?"_

"Its twenty-four dollars a yard."

Her face went white. 'Damnnnnnnnnitttttttt.' She closed her eyes and slowly put the bolt of cloth back where she had gotten it and walked off, cursing the fates. But something blue and shiny from the left hand corner of her eye caught her attention and she found a dark blue cloth with silver sakura blossoms. It looked just like the red one, the colors were just different. Looking at the price, she noticed it was only ten dollars a yard.

"This will do."

She turned her attention over to Inuyasha, who was talking to someone on his cell phone, most likely his father. But his look was different. He looked too playful and excited to be talking to his father.

'I'll just leave him there while I go get this cut.'

When she got over to the cutting tables, she heard a familiar voice and noticed Sango behind the counter talking to another worker. She walked over and put her cloth down.

"How many yards, miss?" Sango asked, keeping her focus on smoothing the cloth out.

"Wow, Sango. I didn't see you as the sewing type."

Sango shot her head up and saw a smirking Kagome standing across from her.

"Kagome! What are you doing here?!"

Kagome laughed. "I should be asking you the same thing. What happened to the restaurant?"

"You didn't hear? Taisho Corp. took over the place and they're completely renovating it. It's supposed to somehow be a state of the art restaurant and techno bar in a few months."

"Wow. Sesshoumaru actually kept his promise..." she thought out loud.

Sango smiled. "So you never answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, I'm just getting cloth for a new kimono."

"Oh! Your New Year's party, right?"

"Yep."

Sango lowered her voice. "Got anyone in mind for that New Year's kiss?"

Kagome blushed. "Umm… no. Not really."

"Liar. Didn't you come in here with that guy? I saw white hair earlier."

"You probably saw Inuyasha. He brings attention to himself wherever he goes."

"Inuyasha?!" She practically shouted. The name was practically poison to her.

"What??"

"Didn't Miroku tell you?!"

"Tell me what?"

"Someone call me?" Inuyasha came walking up to the two girls upon hearing his name.

Sango eyed him then turned her attention back to Kagome.

"Check your email when you get home, Kagome. Call me if you have to."

She looked nervously between the two of them. Inuyasha appeared to be just as confused as Kagome, but Sango was shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Um… okay."

Inuyasha, sensing his presence wasn't needed went back to playing with his cell phone while Sango finished cutting the fabric.

"And Kagome," Sango said, handing her the fabric she cut out, "please be careful. I'm always here."

Kagome smiled. "I know. Thank you, Sango."

Inuyasha came back and walked Kagome out of the store and into the parking lot to her little grey Toyota car. Opening her door, she turned around and hugged him.

"It was nice seeing you again." she said.

"Yeah… thank you for helping me find a necklace." he said, grabbing a piece of her hair and playing with it.

"No problem."

Before she could break away from him, though she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to, Inuyasha bent down and kissed her cheek.

She gasped. 'That's the second time.' "Inuyasha…"

He laughed. "Thanks, Kagome." and walked off leaving her behind and more confused than ever.

'Thanks for what?'

* * *

Kagome sat quietly in her room upstairs and waited for her computer to finish loading so she could check her email like Sango told her to. It had been months since she last checked her mail, let alone use the computer for anything other than printing out papers for school. 

'…_check your email… please be careful…' _

"Careful about what?" she asked silently to herself.

'Man, this damn computer takes forever to load when you have something to do!!'

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she was able to open up her email page and saw a new message from Miroku. It was labeled '_Kagome, please read_.'

'What the hell is going on?'

She clicked the message open and felt her face turn white at what she read.

_Kagome, _

_There is no easy way to tell you this, but it has to be said. At the last archery practice, I saw Inuyasha holding hands with a girl named Kikyo. I'm sure you've met her. He whispered something into her ear… and she kissed him… and he kind of kissed her back. I'm so sorry, Kagome, but I've also seen the way he acts around you, and I didn't want to him to do something and end up hurting you in the process…_

She turned her computer off and felt tears swell up in her eyes.

"He just did…" she whispered.

From outside her bedroom window, two blue jays chirped in unison as the sun began to break through the dimishing blanket of clouds, finally giving off light after two weeks of grey skies.

* * *

**Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on the yen. -.-**

**I think my writing may be getting a wee bit better. YES!! I have no idea why I added that last sentence. hahaha Is she happy? sad? confused as hell? I think I'll opt for the latter of the three. **

**Oh yeah, the chapter title, Psalm 88 is something I found from a little bible I found sitting on my floor. (Don't know how it got there...) I read the little prayer, and it kind of inspired the way the next few chapters are going to be set up. If you have a Bible anywhere within your grasp, go ahead and look up the thing. You might get a better idea of whats to happen. basing a story off religion now... WOOT!  
I will convert no one.**

**_you know what to do. _**

**Later,  
-VG-**


	9. Ganjitsu

**Hehe, you've all suffered long enough... but not QUITE enough. You'll see at the end of the chapter. **

**Anyway, in response to a few repeated reviews and messages...  
No, I'm not going to tell you what the title means yet. heh heh (Seriously, its not even worth knowing because of its stupidity)  
****  
to MotF - Yeah, I kinda figured it was around that much, so lets all just assume I'm talking about dollars. you can convert it on your own and pretend I said that much. haha **

**Man, I am so sorry I made like... four of you cry. haha But thats life. dumb boys. :rawr:**

**Ok, theres some strong language in here, so if you get offended easily, don't read.  
There. I warned you. **

* * *

_'Kagome, _

_There is no easy way to tell you this, but it has to be said. At the last archery practice, I saw Inuyasha holding hands with a girl named Kikyo. I'm sure you've met her. He whispered something into her ear… and she kissed him… and he kind of kissed her back. I'm so sorry, Kagome, but I've also seen the way he acts around you, and I didn't want to him to do something and end up hurting you in the process...'_

_She turned her computer off and felt tears swell up in her eyes._

_"He just did…" she whispered._

* * *

Kagome spent the last week wandering aimlessly around the house in a zombie-like state. Sesshoumaru brought Rin over each morning to spend time with her while he went to work, but the little girl spent more time playing with Buyo, the house cat, than she did with Kagome. When asked why, she said Kagome told her she was thinking. Sesshoumaru spent more time talking with Souta. About what, Kagome couldn't tell.

It was now New Year's Eve and a few hours before the guests to the shrine's party would begin to arrive; the cloth Kagome bought still lay in the corner of her room, untouched.

"What will you wear, nee-chan?" Souta asked her, standing in her doorway watching her sit by her window staring out at nothing in particular.

Kagome brought her attention from out the window to where her brother was now standing in front of her.

"Oh, hi Souta. Umm… I'll just wear the one Mrs. Taisho gave me for my birthday last year."

He looked worried. "Why didn't you make your other one? Don't you think it might bring back old memories for Inuyasha?"

"I don't have anything else, Souta- unless you'd prefer I go out naked."

His expression quickly went to one of disgust. "You're gross, Gome-chan!"

"So is that a yes?"

"NO! _…but Sesshoumaru might say otherwise_…"

"What was that Souta?" She didn't catch his last words.

"What?!"

"You said something about Sesshoumaru."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did. I heard you say his name, Souta." she scorned.

"I just said he better remember to bring my Onimusha Warlords game!" he quickly said.

Kagome gave her younger brother a skeptical look. "You're not telling me something…"

"What?? I miss my game!"

Giving up, she stood and walked over to her desk. Several papers filled with different court dates and information on Naraku's trial lay scattered about. She picked up a bright green one and studied the dates written on it. The doorbell rang and Souta took this as his chance to exit and ran down to answer it.

She remembered her first day at court. It was probably the single most scary and embarrassing day she ever had to endure. Both Naraku's lawyer and Sesshoumaru asked her such personal questions, although the latter of the two seemed to be more nice about it.

* * *

_Kagome sat on the stand while Naraku's lawyer asked her all sorts of personal questions she didn't feel very comfortable answering. This next one however, caught her, as well as everyone else in the court room, completely off guard. _

"_Miss Higurashi, have you ever touched yourself?"_

_Her face went red. 'Whoa, What?!'_

_Sesshoumaru stood up and almost knocked his chair over in the process. "Objection! What does this have to do with Naraku's advances on my client?" _

_The judge motioned for him to sit down._

"_Mr. Taisho, calm yourself." The judge then turned to Naraku's lawyer. "Byakuya, what are you trying to get at?" _

"_I'm merely proving Miss Higurashi seduced my client." _

_He thought for a second. "I'll allow it. Miss Higurashi,"_

_Kagome looked up at the judge. _

"_Answer the question." _

_It was at that moment Kagome decided she hated that judge and anything that had to do with law. _

"_Do I have to?" she whimpered. _

"_Yes." _

'_Damn.' _

_She looked down at her skirt and began playing with the hem. Byakuya became irritated. _

"_Miss Higurashi! Answer the question!" _

_'I can't believe I took that stupid oath.' She hid her face behind her hair and mumbled, "Once." _

"_And how long ago was this?" _

_She felt her face get hotter by the second. "I don't know." _

_He grew even more impatient with her. "Before or after you went into work the day Mr. Onigumo supposedly tried touching you?!" he yelled. _

_She was on the verge of tears. Never before had she felt anymore violated than she had been at that moment. 'I should have never said anything.' _

_Sesshoumaru grew tense. "Objection! My client is obviously way too distressed and unable to answer any of these pointless questions."_

"_She's fine, Sesshoumaru." Naraku said. _

"_You are not allowed to speak for her, you disgrace to the male population!" _

_The judge pounded on his gavel. "I WILL have order in this court! Miss Higurashi will answer the question and you two will remain quiet! Understood?" _

_Sesshoumaru growled and sat back down. _

"_Thank you, your honor." Byakuya bowed. _

"_Miss Higurashi, the jury awaits your answer." _

"_Before." she mumbled again. _

"_How soon?" _

'_Oh god, just shoot me now!' "The day before." _

_Naraku smirked. _

"_And did you think of Mr. Onigumo while doing so?" _

_Although Sesshoumaru's expression remained emotionless, inside he was growling. 'Please say No, Kagome.' _

"_No." She made sure she said that loud and clear. _

_Byakuya frowned. "Then who?!" he pressed. _

_Kagome's face went pale. She looked up at Sesshoumaru, who looked like he was ready to strangle the man. _

"_I don't have to answer that, do I??" she asked the judge. _

_He looked down at Kagome, then over at Sesshoumaru and Byakuya. "No. I think I've heard just about enough for today. We're going to have to reschedule this for another date." _

_With that being said, he got up out of his podium and left the room. _

Kagome felt sick. She sank down in her chair, but as soon as she saw Sesshoumaru walking towards her, she ran out of the courtroom to the nearest restroom and threw up.

* * *

'That was definitely NOT my finest moment.' she thought to herself as she set the paper down and brought out her calendar. She marked a star next to January 15th, her next, and hopefully last, court date.

There was a knock on her door.

"Kagome?"

It was Sesshoumaru.

"Come in." she mumbled.

He opened her door and saw her hovering over something at her desk. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he told her, "It's almost over."

"Is it really?" her voice was sour and she didn't bother to look at him. "Last time I checked, it was around this time last year that I just got the job and look what happened! Couldn't even keep the damn thing a full year without screwing something up."

"You and I both know this was just a rare occasion. It could have happened to anyone."

She stood up and hit his hand away. "Well it happened to me, and I'm sick of it! I'm always receiving the fucking 'rare' end of things and I'm fucking sick of it!! First school screws me over, then Naraku tries to, and now Inuyasha's fucking try-to-lead-Kagome-on bullshit! I can't stand it anymore!"

"Well, shit, Kagome!" his voice rose, "Why don't you do something about it?! I only came here to tell you he brought that girl from the archery comp with him and thought you might like to actually be warned."

"And I'm sick of everyone trying to warn me! Its my goddamn life!"

She didn't want to yell at him, but today she was having even more trouble containing her emotions. Sesshoumaru was the only person who understood everything she was going through; pushing him away was the last thing she wanted. Had she not been under any stress, she would have refrained from everything she said, but she only found herself grow even more angry when all he did was stare back at her. 'Is this anger?'

"Then prove it, Kagome. Prove to me you can control your own life!"

Without warning, she found herself hooking both her arms around his neck and forcing her lips onto his, catching both of them completely by surprise.

Opening her eyes in utter shock, she quickly pulled away. "Sesshoumaru… I- I… it-"

He smiled and leaned his head back down, gently placing his lips over hers, which after a moment, she graciously accepted. The second kiss was slightly more romantic than the first forced one, but Kagome was still hesitant.

'This can't be right.' she thought, opening her eyes.

She slowly pulled away, much to his disappointment.

"Regret already?"

"What? No!" she stammered, "I- I just can't… this…"

He placed his index finger over her lips. "Shh, Kagome. I know."

"You do?"

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and looked into her glistening eyes. "Inuyasha is a damn fool..." he whispered. "The girl told him he was her boyfriend and he went with it. He didn't tell you because she told him she didn't feel comfortable with him around you. He has absolutely no backbone."

She sat on her bed and was silent for a moment. 'So it was the girl. His idiocy… and the girl.'

"Is he happy?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I have to, Sesshoumaru. As much as I wish to wring him around the neck and watch him suffer, I can't sit back and watch some girl just use him… though he does deserve it."

He sat down next to her and stared straight at the wall.

"He is."

There it was. The only answer she would ever need. She closed her eyes and let a heavy breath escape her lips.

"Alright. That's all I wanted to know."

He looked down and grabbed her left hand in his, softly rubbing each of her knuckles with his thumb. As she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, he couldn't help but feel a bit of happiness seep through him, despite the fact the girl he had come to love was mourning in defeat over another.

'Kagome needs a friend. I can do that for now.'

After spending several minutes of holding hands in silence, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Kagome," it was her mother, "its almost time to get the fireworks ready for grandpa. Please come downstairs."

She lifted her head. "Hai, mama." she called.

"Do you think you're ready to face what awaits you downstairs?" he asked her, watching her walk over to her closet to pull out the kimono she received last year.

"Do I have any other choice?"

He chuckled. "No."

She scoffed. "Thought not." She held the blue garment up to her body and admired herself in the mirror. 'I look pretty good in blue…' Seeing Sesshoumaru watch this from behind her gave her an idea.

"Hey! Why don't you... kind of... pretend to be my boyfriend?"

He shifted an eyebrow. "Pretend?"

"Yeah. I won't feel as alone if that girl is out there all over your brother." _'…plus, I don't want to rush into things just yet…' _

After a moment of thought, he finally answered, "Alright."

She smiled. "Great! Now get out."

Again, he lifted his eyebrow.

"I have to change, you know." she scolded.

"Yes, but as your boyfriend, I am now entitled to witness things most other people can not." he smirked.

"Not yet, you perv." she laughed, pushing him out the door. "Five minutes. Wait here."

"Who exactly wears the pants, now?"

She smiled. "Shut up."

"Ouch."

This was going to be an interesting night.

* * *

**Well... that was interesting. Now you know what happened in court that one day Kagome came home all red faced. hehe  
And yes, that was how the little argument I had with my friend went... only there was no kiss. instead, I kicked him pretty hard... but that isn't very romantic. ahahaha  
As for pretending to be a couple... I don't know. I think I failed at my attempt to keep the girl in touch with her inner teenybopper self. oh well. **

**REVIEW! _tell me how much you hate it._ ...though I will delete those comments... :D**

**-VG-**


	10. Fat Brown Lump REVEALED!

**Ok, so I'm posting a bit** **early this week. I'll be EXTREMELY busy these next few days. But at least you get a new chapter, right? **

**Anyway, the next chapter is going to have a bit of a lime that'll lead into a possible lemon most likely in the following chapter. Problem is, this whole explicit whatever crap is getting me a bit worried. So I have a question. Should I post it with the scenes taken out (it'll be marked) or would you rather I post it the way I origionally wrote it? If no one answers, or I get more "edit it" than "POST THE WHOLE DAMN THING!", I'll post the edited version on here and maybe the full thing on a single spark. This is one of those times where I think I might have to beg for reviews... blegh. **

**Forgive the grammar errors and crap. I'm in a hurry now. BOO. **

* * *

_"Yes, but as your boyfriend, I am now entitled to witness things most other people can not." he smirked._

_"Not yet, you perv." she laughed, pushing him out the door. "Five minutes. Wait here."_

_"Who exactly wears the pants, now?"_

_She smiled. "Shut up."_

_"Ouch."_

_This was going to be an interesting night._

* * *

Kagome emerged from her room wearing a dark blue yukata with large white koi fish embroidered throughout the fabric; her hair in a small bun. She felt a little embarrassed and looked down when Sesshoumaru looked at her almost in shock.

"I'm not really good with buns… and this thing was from last year" she muttered, holding a piece of the fabric up, " … I didn't have time-"

"Beautiful." he breathed.

She smiled and blushed, wondering if she could ever keep up having their relationship stay pretend. "Thank you. Ready?"

"Almost. There's one thing I want to give you before we go down." he said, reaching down into his pocket and pulling out a tiny box wrapped in a white bow. "I was going to give it to you later as a New Year's gift, but I think it would be better if you wore it now."

Removing the bow, he opened the small package and pulled out a thin silver necklace. Resting elegantly in the center hung a sapphire crescent moon. Several tiny diamond stars dangled neatly in little rows surrounding it.

Kagome gasped. "Its beautiful! Is it really for me?"

He smiled. "Of course. Turn around so I can put it on you."

She pulled her hair up and watched in the hallways mirror as he clasped the necklace together. It matched perfectly with her outfit.

'I can't believe he actually bought me a real stone… TWO real stones… mmm, his hands feel so soft… No! Where'd the hands go??? Oooo…."

Sesshoumaru noticed her relax into his hands as he clasped the necklace around her and sensed her disappointment when he let go. He took that opportunity to sneak down and kissed her softly behind her neck, causing her to close her eyes and let out a little moan.

'Where did that come from?!' Kagome opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her through the mirror.

"Beautiful."

She tilted her head back and rubbed against his shoulder.

"Does it really have to be pretend?" he grumbled, nuzzling the back of her head with his nose.

She smiled. "Mmm… for now."

He stood up to his full height and grabbed her tiny hands, turning her body to face his. "Fine, but I intend for that to change very soon." putting more emphasis on 'very' as he pulled her hand up to his lips and softly kissed it.

Her face turned red. "W- we should go downstairs now. Mama is waiting."

He smiled and led her downstairs, hand in hand.

* * *

"Gome okaasan!" Rin cried, clamping down onto Kagome's legs.

Kagome laughed. "Its nice to see you too, Rin-chan, but I'm not your mother!"

"You might as well be." Sesshoumaru smirked.

She playfully slapped his hand. "Not yet."

Rin lifted her head up from resting her head on Kagome's leg when she asked, "Can Gome-san come live with Rin?"

Lifting up her eyebrow at Sesshoumaru and giving him that 'You put her up to this, didn't you?' look, she picked up the tiny girl and set her down on the couch.

"Only if Rin-chan behaves like a good girl and doesn't say anything to Gome's okaasan. Ok?"

As if on cue, Kagome's mother popped out of the kitchen holding a bowl of mung beans and rice.

"Don't tell me what?" she asked, knowing she was hiding something.

Sesshoumaru stepped forward, grabbed Kagome's waist and pulled her close. "Kagome and I are now dating, Mrs. Higurashi." Straightforward much?

Kagome's eyes widened and she spun her head toward Sesshoumaru in shock. 'Is he crazy?!'

Mrs. Higurashi smiled. "Finally."

"Finally?" the two asked in unison. Of course, Kagome's voice was more panicked.

"Up until you rescued my daughter from Naraku, you hardly, if ever, came 'just' to play video games with Souta, Sesshoumaru. And Kagome, you never let anyone in your room. Not even Inuyasha has ever seen it."

She had them cornered there.

"Yes, but there were also legal matters Kagome and I had to discuss." Sesshoumaru interjected.

Mrs. Higurashi held up her hand. "Yeah, yeah. I know," She turned around to place the food on the table before speaking up again. "And do you not think I don't know what happened that night you came over to comfort my daughter?" She smirked and saw the two blush from the corner of her eye.

"...by the way, nice necklace, Kagome." With that being said, Mrs. Higurashi slid open the back door and went out to entertain the rest of the guests. Sesshoumaru's father came walking in and saw Mrs. Higurashi nod to him as she walked out. He looked wide eyed at his son.

"Kagome, your mother is pure evil." Sesshoumaru told her.

"Uhh… yeah…" She wasn't quite fully recovered from the bomb her mother just dropped.

"Kagome, you look ravishing this evening!" Sesshoumaru's father exclaimed, obviously having a hard time hiding the wide grin on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Taisho." she replied, extremely red in the face.

He took her hand and shook it.

"Call me dad." he said, and winked at her.

She gave him a nervous smile. 'Oy…'

"Ah, my late wife had such wonderful taste in clothing!"

"It _is_ a beautiful yukata." Sesshoumaru said, taking in the whole sight of the girl beside him.

"So it is true!" Mr. Taisho exclaimed. "And her mother has no problem with the age difference?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head and growled. "I'm not THAT old!"

"I'll be eighteen in less than two weeks, anyway." Kagome told him.

"Wonderful! Now all the Taishos have their own woman!"

Sesshoumaru lifted an eyebrow. "All?"

His father smiled. "Oh Riiiin?" he called out in a sing song voice.

Both Sesshoumaru and Kagome's eyes widened.

"Grampa!" Rin giggled and ran up holding her arms out to him. He lifted her up and she gave him a big, wet, kiss on his cheek.

"I'm spoiling this one." he smiled.

"Love Grampa, Rin!" she squealed.

"And I love you, my little chinchilla!" he said, poking her stomach, making her giggle. The two walked back outside giggling and poking each other.

Finally snapping somewhat into reality, Kagome spoke up. "…I'm kind of thankful my mom is the evil one."

"Yeah… I think I've suddenly lost my will to go outside."

She punched his arm. "There's no way in hell I'd let you convince me to go this far only to have you back out on me, stupid head!"

"Stupid head?" he raised his eyebrow before leaning down to nuzzle her neck. "We could have easily stayed back up in your room _together_."

She closed her eyes and slowly tilted her head back. "Ye-yeah… no! Stop that!" she giggled, pushing him away, "Lets get this night over with."

* * *

Inuyasha was sitting alongside Kikyo at a table in one of the corners in the yard, whispering something into her ear that made her giggle before kissing him on the lips. Neither one noticed Kagome looking in their direction.

The last thing she wanted was to ruin her mother's little gathering, so she forced herself to accept what she saw. 'He really does look happy.' she smiled, 'It's for the best.'

"Kagome!"

She turned around to see Sango rushing toward her in a purple yukata. Miroku was chasing at her heels.

"Hi, Sango!" she called.

Sango stopped, saw Sesshoumaru and bowed.

"And who is this?" she asked, holding her hand out to shake his.

Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Oh! This is my boyfriend, Sesshoumaru."

'Wow. That felt weird to say… but cool!'

"I'm sorry, what?" Sango asked, "I thought I heard you finally say _boyfriend._"

Kagome smiled. She knew Sango was joking around. "Yep. This is my boyfriend, Sesshoumaru Taisho."

"Well, you sure do bounce back fast, Kago." she laughed.

From across the yard, Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard Kagome's voice.

"_This is my boyfriend, Sesshoumaru Taisho."_

"Sesshoumaru?"

Kikyo stared at Inuyasha. "Who's Sesshoumaru?"

"What? Oh, my friend over there. Lets go say hi, babe. Show off your necklace."

"Alright."

* * *

"Sesshoumaru Taisho? _The_ Sesshoumaru Taisho??" Miroku was in awe.

"Yes. I believe we've met before." Sesshoumaru said, shaking his hand.

"Yeah, but I didn't realize you were the actual man! People would kill to have you represent them as your lawyer!"

He chuckled. "So I'm told."

The two men walked off to discuss law or something like that. Kagome wasn't too concerned. Sango nudged her friend with her elbow and smiled.

"What??"

"Brothers, huh?"

She blushed. "Yeah, but Sesshoumaru actually cares."

"Are you sure you're just not on that rebound thing?"

"Positive."

"So then what happened to the other one?"

Kagome looked Sango in the eye, her expression serious. "He led me on, Sango. He did al those things only to make me comfortable and go behind my back for that girl over there." Kagome pointed in the direction Inuyasha and Kikyo were sitting in.

Sango looked over. "What girl?"

"Huh?" Kagome turned around to see the table Inuyasha and Kikyo were sitting in empty.

"Hey Kagome!"

From her left, Inuyasha, holding tightly onto Kikyo's hand, made his way over to meet Kagome. She smiled at them. The only problem was, he didn't look very happy.

"So when were you planning on telling me about you and Sesshoumaru??" He demanded.

She closed her eyes and growled. _'How dare he talk to me like that!' _"When were you planning on telling me about Kikyo?" She replied as calmly as she could.

"What does Kikyo have to do with anything? I asked you about Sesshoumaru!"

She shot her eyes open and exploded. "Everything! You completely ignored me for months on end to go see HER! You couldn't even tell me you _liked_ her?? Even with that necklace," she pointed to the red necklace Kikyo wore, "you wouldn't tell me a damn thing. You hardly talked the whole day!"

Inuyasha retorted. "So? Sesshoumaru bought you that blue necklace! I told him how much you like stars!"

"I like moons!!"

"Keh, same thing."

"Inuyasha knew my favorite color was red." Kikyo said, grabbing possessively onto his arm and smiling at him. "I like stars, too."

Kagome felt her anger rise. "Inuyasha, what's my favorite color?"

"What does that have to do wit-"

"Just answer my question!"

"Psh… I don't know. Green?"

She felt her eyes begin to water. "Its red, baka!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?! You two are the same!"

"You were my best friend for over fifteen years! _AND NO, WE ARE NOT!_"

Sango left to get Sesshoumaru. Kagome wouldn't be able to face these two on her own, especially with her fuming aura getting stronger by the second.

"This has nothing to do with you not telling me about dating Sesshoumaru." he waved her last answer off. "He's too old for you, and that's just gross. It makes you look like some kind of teenage bimbo."

Kikyo's eyes opened in shock. "That's all it took to get you in bed?" She held back her laugher. "Such loose morals. This is improper for a shrine maiden."

Kagome clenched her fists together, her long nails cutting into her skin allowing a thin line of blood slowly seep out. It took ever fiber of her being to keep from lashing out at the girl and catching unneeded attention.

"Who cares about behavior?" Inuyasha said. "She's dating a guy ten years older than her! Kagome, you need to find someone in your own age group. Kouga's back in town. Maybe you should think about dating him. I'm pretty sure he likes you."

"You do not have any say in who I will and will not date, Inuyasha." she growled.

"I have a say when you go behind my back for my brother!"

"Kagome can date whomever she pleases with or without your permission, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru came up and wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her a reassuring tug.

She looked up at him and smiled before turning back to the two in front of her. "That's right. At least I talk to and get to know my partner before I get myself stuck in a relationship with a control freak. I wouldn't want to end up being stuck with a guy because someone else says so!"

"You can't talk about Kikyo like that, Kagome." Inuyasha scorned.

Her rage built up even more. "Then you shouldn't have left me alone at the competition, you jerk! You've only known her for a few weeks before she TOLD YOU, you were her boyfriend. And you went with it! Sesshoumaru was there for me all the times you were supposed to be! He held me late at night when I had no one to talk to. While you were off with that bitch," she pointed to Kikyo, "he was there to make up some excuse as to why you were gone. He tried protecting me! _You_ never returned my phone calls, _you_ always left early the times we would hang out just to go to her! And the times we did hang out, _you _made everything seem like it was pointless and always made me look and feel dumb! I used to ignore it thinking you'd change, but you couldn't even tell me you were dating that… that _lump! _And you expect me to go to you and ask permission to date him, to say I went behind _your back _when you can't even tell me about her!!"

Kagome was huffing and Sesshoumaru had to rub her back just to get her breathing under control. It was way more than she wanted to say, and it had certainly caused a little scene, but she had no regrets. For once she thought her mind might finally be at ease.

Inuyasha just looked to his brother. "And you're just going to stand there and let her yell at me like that?"

"Don't act innocent, Inuyasha. I saw her tears."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't need to hear this! Kagome, you're just being a wimp. I didn't want to be the one to say this, but it looks like I'm going to have to since no one else will. Its your own fault you failed, not mine. You ran off with that pedophile because you couldn't stand seeing me with Kikyo. She makes me happy whether you like her or not."

Kagome eyed him. "This has nothing to do with Kikyo! I used to think I loved you, but when I realized that was never going to happen, I sought your friendship again, but by then, that was gone as well. All I ever wanted was for you to listen… or at least show you did. But you never even gave me that." her voice was low and trembled as she said those last few sentences.

Not wanting to look at him anymore, she left him standing, stunned by her words. Sesshoumaru ushered her into the house and upstairs to her room, where he locked her door keeping anyone from coming in. She sat at the edge of her bed, looked in her lap, almost in a trance, and took out the little bun she had on her head, letting her hair hang loosely over her shoulders.

"Its over."

Sesshoumaru came and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her wilting body. "How are you feeling?"

She fell backwards onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. His arms were still wrapped around her.

"Relieved… free… liberated." she smiled.

"You really needed to get that out of your system, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm finally free… for the most part."

"Inuyasha always bounces back. He wont hold much resentment toward you."

She rolled over so her upper half was leaning over his chest and looked at his face. "I wasn't talking about that."

"You mean the trial?"

She went down and rested her head on his chest. "Yeah…" She felt his fingers softly comb through her hair.

"I can try and excuse you on the 15th. You shouldn't have gone through that kind of treatment last time. I can call you and let you know the sentence."

"No!" she shot up. "I want to see the look on that bastard's face when they put him away."

Sesshoumaru found himself holding onto her tighter.

"...and you know that one day… when Byakuya asked me that… question…"

"Hn?"

She blushed. "It was you."

"Me?"

"Yes."

"That long ago?"

"Yeah…"

"As unconventional as this is," he chuckled, "I am flattered."

He looked down at her and saw her looking up at him. Her eyes seemed to twinkle and their gaze never broke… until, of course, Kagome's radio alarm went off. They both turned their heads and saw 12:00 blinking in bright red lights as fireworks could be seen going off up above through her window.

"Happy New Year." she laughed.

"Indeed."

She let out a playful yelp and giggled as he rolled over and captured her lips in his, imagining everything else he'd like to wrap his mouth around.

'All in due time.'

* * *

" '_**So? Sesshoumaru bought you that blue necklace! I told him how much you like stars!' **_

'_**I like moons!!' " **_

**Hahaha, sorry. I had to add that in there. It made me laugh. Think two five year olds arguing. **

**And here, the moment you've all been waiting for… the meaning behind Fat Brown Lump.**

**When that lovely little argument happened between my friend and me, I called the girl a 'fucking fat brown lump.' (I was SUPER pissed, she wasn't around, no one's feelings were hurt. :P) She had dark brown skin, and wasn't super fat, but enough to earn that title from me. Needless to say, after my friends found out about that incident, they were nothing short from shocked. Now whenever someone gets one of those evil 'do what I say or else' boyfriends/girlfriends, we call then fat brown lumps… even though they may really be white lumps, black lumps, pale lumps, pimply lumps… they're all lumps! Don't you just love teenage drama? **

**I told you it wasn't that interesting!! But you can review anyway. :D**

**-VG-**


	11. Things Couldn't Possibly Get Any Worse

**Lookie at the quickie update!**

**The POST THE WHOLE DAMN THING got it! So, if I get in trouble, its your fault. hehe  
Anyway, to answer a few questions... YES, Sesshoumaru is a demon in this fic. I don't know if I made a point of that in the story or not yet. NO, Kagome does not have her miko powers. I don't know why I felt like making her a weakling. I just did. And YES, Sesshou is ten years older than Kago, which makes him 28 and her 18... well almost 18... but he's still 28. Don't question my motives!!! **

**OH YEAH! and this fic is waaaaaay far from being over. Don't fret over that one. I just take forever to write.  
:D**

**W A R N I N G: This chapter contains adult situations and touchy feely stuff. If you don't like that stuff, don't read. If you read anyway and get all pissy over it, screw you. Theres my warning. Deal with it. **

* * *

Kagome woke the next morning as the sun's rays softly caressed her sleeping form only to find herself wrapped safely in Sesshoumaru's arms, still fully clothed, 'Thank God!' She smiled and nestled her face against his chest, taking in his scent and finding comfort from the steady motions of his breaths. The whole thing just felt right... almost surreal.

Sesshoumaru woke from his slumber as soon as he felt her face rub across his white clothed chest, his suit jacket lay bunched up in a pile on the floor next to him. The motions and feel of her actions reminded him of a cat; a horny, hard-nippled, cat.

'Wait, what?'

He looked down at her form and felt her breasts pressed against his lower stomach, right above his crotch. Her nipples were indeed hard and he could sense her arousal growing hotter with each breath he took.

"Kagome," he said rather stiffly, "are you wearing a bra?"

"No." she mumbled, shifting over his body.

He dropped his head back and let out a long, agonized, sigh. 'How thin is that material she's wearing?!'

Before he knew it, he felt her silently giggling as his pants seemed to get tighter and tighter. He tried wiggling around to try and reposition himself from under her, but she already knew how hard he was and situated her body between his legs just to tease him.

"Koi, if you keep this up any longer, I cannot be held responsible for my next actions." he managed to grunt out.

She slowly ground her hips against his and tilted her head forward, nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth. "Am I going to be punished?" she purred, rubbing her hand across his chest.

A low growl escaped his throat. "Severely."

In a flash, he quickly took possession of her lips and switched their positions. Not once did she realize how dangerous it was to feed the fire she had just started. Had she known, she might have refrained from her previous actions, but considering their positions, what was about to happen seemed inevitable. He lay over her frail body, trapping her between his legs while his hands explored her every curve; the thin material of her yukata slid dangerously off her shoulder exposing her bare collar bone to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his body closer to hers as his hands fumbled around with her obi - the only thing keeping him from getting to the rest of her body. Tossing it aside, he slowly nudged his hand in, causing light tremors to travel throughout her body just by tracing the side of her stomach with his thumb. He allowed his hand to make its way higher to her breasts and immediately found himself grinning.

"You were telling the truth."

She tilted her head and began nipping at his neck until she came to his ear. "Only for you." she whispered.

He found himself closing his eyes and shuddering in pleasure at her words. Slowly, he removed the annoying garment from her shoulders and marveled at the porcelain skinned beauty that lay before him.

"Yet you wear underwear." he mused.

"I have to have _some_ modestly."

"You should have none at all." He bent his head lower and kissed the valley between her breasts, while sneaking a hand lower into her white panties. She let out a stiff moan and rose her chest to him as his fingers toyed with her wet opening. Never before had she felt such pleasure and couldn't help but wonder what the actual sex felt like. His mouth found it's way to one of her hard nipples and flicked it with his tongue, earning him an even louder gasp from the writhing body beneath him, which in turn, made him grin in delight.

Her hands reached lower to unbuckle his pants before he stopped her. "Not yet." he grunted.

"But look at you…" She softly rubbed her hand over the growing bulge in his black pants.

He grabbed it and pulled it away. "Not yet."

Her hand was lifted over her head as he traced light kisses along her neck and shoulder.

"_Daddy!" _

All feelings of lust were gone and replaced with shock and annoyance as they both heard Rin giggling on the other side, trying to twist open the locked doorknob.

"Shit." His head fell on her shoulder.

"She picks the right moments to step in, doesn't she?"

"Always," he growled, sitting up. "She ran in on me taking a shower the other day saying she had a bad dream."

"Lucky kid. I wish that could have been me…" she giggled, rubbing her hand higher along his inner thigh.

He leaned over and kissed her behind her ear. "You should get dressed." he whispered, "I don't want my daughter seeing her 'mother' naked."

She smirked. "Was that a proposal?"

"You'll find out soon enough." he said, giving her a light kiss on the lips. **(A/N: Already thinking about marriage. pft)**

"_Daddy!!" _

Rin was now pounding on the door. _"Open!!"_

Kagome scrambled out of her bed and pulled out a white t-shirt and jeans as he stood to open the door. Just as she finished pulling up the zipper to her pants, a tiny body flew into the room and jumped onto her back. She fell forward with an 'oomph!'

"Gome okaa-san!" the tiny little girl gigged.

"Hi, Rin." she laughed, twisting over and pulling the girl in her arms. "What are you doing up here?"

"Gampa says otou-sama upstairs and Rin come get him. Breakfast!"

Sesshoumaru looked at his newly adopted daughter and raised an eyebrow. She was talking way too much.

"Rin, did grandpa give you any sweets?"

The brown haired girl looked over to her father and beamed. Her hair hadn't been brushed, nor had she changed out of the orange and green yukata she wore the previous night.

"Froot Loops and coffee!!!" she screamed, kicking her legs and waving her arms wildly in Kagome's arms.

Both she and Sesshoumaru cringed when the girl began screaming. Her voice was so loud and high pitched, something the two weren't prepared for so early in the morning.

"I see you two are finally up."

Kagome spun around to see Sesshoumaru's father standing by the doorframe wearing a navy blue polo shirt and black slacks. His grey hair was tied back, giving her a full view of his wide grin. "Its near 1:30, you know,"

"And Saturday," Sesshoumaru interrupted, "We don't have to go in to work until Monday." He had a small frown on his face. She could tell he didn't like being kept from tasks he started, especially ones he enjoyed, and silently giggled to herself. Rin was too busy playing and tugging on a lock of Kagome's jet black hair to notice the conversation.

"Did Inuyasha leave already, Mr. Taisho?" she asked.

He nodded. "He left last night. His girlfriend was complaining about food poisoning or something, so he drove her home and hasn't come back. I'm assuming he spent the rest of the night at _my_ home. I don't want to see anymore Taishos in nine months… at least ones from two kids as unprepared as they are…" he winked at Kagome as he said that.

"Father!" Sesshoumaru growled.

"Sorry… coffee." He grinned holding up his mug. "Anyway! Lets go downstairs. We have an issue with the next trial."

Kagome groaned. "God, now what?!"

He patted her shoulder. "Just wait until we get downstairs. Your mother is already waiting for you two in the kitchen."

* * *

Mrs. Higurashi was sitting at the kitchen table, twitching her hands nervously while two small mugs of freshly brewed coffee sat across from her. She sent Souta, at his request, to his friend's house down the street for the day. Grandpa was at the market and wouldn't return until later.

"Hi, Mama." Kagome said, walking in hand in hand with Sesshoumaru.

"Have a seat you two."

Sesshoumaru pulled out Kagome's chair for her and she smiled at him before sitting. Mrs. Higurashi smiled inwardly at this, but she needed to be fully aware of the severity of the upcoming conversation.

"Please, have some coffee," she gestured to the mugs, "Would you like some toast or eggs?"

Kagome bit her lip. Something bad was going on. It always was. Her mother didn't offer food like that unless something bad happened. "Umm… no, thank you. Is something wrong?"

Sesshoumaru's father answered her question for her as he sauntered into the kitchen. Rin was nowhere around him. "The media got to the trial." He walked over beside Sesshoumaru and sat down. "Rin is taking her nap." he mumbled to him, leaning over and touching his son's shoulder, who in turn, nodded.

"What does the media have to do with this? I thought this was a small easy case?" Kagome inquired.

"Yes, it should have been," he said, "but apparently those other girls who came forward had a history with using older men for money. You know how the media likes to pick sides, Kagome."

"They think I went to Naraku for his money?!"

Sesshoumaru grabbed her hand. "Hush. Its just the news. I can work around that."

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, Sesshoumaru." Mrs. Higurashi cut in. "They found out about your relationship with my daughter." She tossed the morning's newspaper onto the table with a soft thump. In big bold letters, _**Higurashi At It Again** _danced across the front cover, taunting Kagome with each damned letter.

"_Again?!" _she shrieked, holding up the paper. Both Taishos covered their ears. Girls really knew how to use their lungs.

"Kagome, calm down," her mother urged.

"How can I calm down when half of Tokyo thinks I'm some kind of whore?!"

"Its just the media, Kagome." Mr. Taisho pressed. "We were doing everything we could to prevent the media from finding out. There must have been someone spying or feeding information."

"It hasn't been a full 24 hours and already they're printing this garbage." Sesshoumaru growled.

"It must have been someone at the gathering last night." Kagome said, "It has to be. Sango and Miroku wouldn't… they're the only two I told. And I haven't left the house since… oh no." her face went white.

"What??" her mother pressed.

Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru. "Inuyasha wouldn't, would he?"

He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Its possible. Dipshit can't remember to keep anything quiet. His girlfriend didn't look any better."

"Shit!" Mr. Taisho stood up and pounded his fist hard on the table, causing everyone to jump from his sudden outburst.

"Daichi!" Kagome's mother yelled.

"Where is my phone?!" he growled, "I need to get a hold of Myoga."

Sesshoumaru handed him his cell phone, which as soon as he got a hold of, began punching in the numbers. The younger demon could only wonder how long his poor phone could handle his father's abuse.

"Myoga. Its me… Daichi… _you know who I am…_"

Both Sesshoumaru and Kagome couldn't help but to watch in amusement as his father argued with the family servant.

"Yes, keep Inuyasha away from the phone and his new girlfriend. I do NOT want him feeding her information! I should have done a search on that damned girl's family."

He hung up the phone and growled.

"Kagome," he said, more calm when he looked at her, "two Saturdays from now, you are to come with me to court. I do not want you going with Sesshoumaru. Its going to be a media circus, especially if you show up in the same car as my son." He said, then turned to said son, "Sesshoumaru?"

"Hn?"

"You will go in first through the front. I have people who will allow me to take Kagome in through the back as you do so."

"Alright."

This was too much for Kagome. All she wanted to do was get out of high school and make it into college unnoticed. Now it seemed like the whole world knew her and would never leave her alone. She pounded her forehead on the table and stayed in that position as Sesshoumaru placed his hand on her back, trying to comfort her.

"And that's the other thing," Mrs. Higurashi said.

"Now what?" Kagome grumbled, her head still flat on the table's hard surface.

"As much as I don't really approve of it at this time, I am happy for you two. But please, do not show your affection towards one another in public. And _please_, don't give me any grandchildren yet. Soon, just not too soon."

"I have to agree." Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome shot up. "You wanted a kid already???"

"Not that. I meant its too risky to be seen in public now."

"Well duh! It would have always been risky, Sesshoumaru. I'm ten years younger than you. Even when the trial is over and people see us, things _will _be said. I'm only surprised Mama doesn't mind."

"I figured it would have happened sooner or later." she smiled. Kagome just gave her a funny look.

Sesshoumaru's father pushed his chair in and walked out to the doorway entrance. "Alright. Now that we've got that out of the way, I should probably head home. I've got a son to kill. I apologize for my earlier behavior, Asuka."

Kagome's mother closed her eyes and nodded her head.

He bowed to the group sitting at the table and quickly left.

Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru. "Can you stay a little longer?"

He rubbed his hand over her thigh. "Until Rin wakes up from her nap." Which always took a good amount of time, especially now that she was coming down from a sugar high.

She smiled. "I'm going to go check on that kid. I'll be right back."

* * *

Inuyasha was fast asleep, curled up under his covers in a ball on his bed, when his father came storming in. 

"Boy! What did you do this time?!" his voice boomed.

He shot up when he heard his door slam against the wall and saw his father standing at the edge of the bed, looking pretty pissed off. His father rarely got angry ay his sons, but when he did, he was something to be feared.

"What?! I didn't do anything!" he growled.

"The media is all over the two, and they're calling _Kagome _the bad one! Do you have any idea how this could affect the case AND the family name?! BOTH family names!"

Inuyasha was silent. He didn't mean for it to get this far. He just wanted to embarrass her. "Its Sesshoumaru's fault for getting her in the first place. She didn't even ask me if it was okay!"

He slammed his fist against the doorframe and hit his forehead against it. "Are you that selfish? Do you not realize the severity of this whole thing?!"

The boy growled. "Of course I do! But what kind of friend goes behind your back to date your own brother and not even ASK if you were okay with it?!"

The older demon closed his eyes and sighed. Sometimes his youngest son let his emotions get the best of him, which seemed to be both a blessing and a curse. "Did you ask her if it was okay for you to date Kikyo?"

"No." he huffed, crossing his arms, "Kikyo isn't related to her. It doesn't matter."

"That's where you're wrong. Kagome despises that girl way more than you do your brother. Their situation is the same."

"She still should have told me." he said, falling back onto his bed. "Its not my fault she likes pedofiles."

* * *

"Rin-chan?" Kagome said softly, nudging the girl awake. She was mumbling and rolling around in her sleep. "Rin." 

The tiny girl lifted her head off Kagome's white fluffed pillow and looked up. "Mommy?"

Kagome smiled and brushed her hair out of her face. She bent down to kiss the girl's forehead.

"How are you doing?" she softly asked.

"Rin have tummy ache." she complained.

"Well, that was from all the sugar grandpa let you have. It will go away."

She held out her arms to Kagome and whimpered. "Up."

Pulling her onto her lap, Kagome complied with the girl's small request and began to hum a soft lullaby, slowly rocking her back and forth as she rubbed small circles along her back. After a while she stopped whimpering.

"Are you feeling better now?"

She nodded. "Mommy stay with Rin?"

"For now."

"Forever?"

Kagome held her tighter. "For-" but she paused. This was an all too familiar scene to her. She knew what it felt like to have a parent say that, only to leave her a few hours later… even if they didn't mean to. She suddenly realized that was what Sesshoumaru tried to explain to her the night she woke up crying. Her father was no liar... he just loved her.

"Gome?" Rin said, breaking the girl away from her thoughts.

Kagome looked down into the tiny girl's big eyes. They looked so innocent. There was no way she could say something that would disappoint her. It wasn't right. After giving it a quick thought, she finally answered her."For… however long Rin sleeps."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

That was the truth.

* * *

**Yay! That was an easy chapter. Leetle tiny baby lime. Don't worry, there'll be a bigger one, I just haven't decided when or where. Not the next chapter... but prolly the one after... maybe chap. 13. Seems appropriate.   
****:P**

**review? **

**Thankies!  
-VG-**


	12. Naps

**Oh fuck. **

**I am SO sorry for the late update. Things happened and I fell behind. I started the chapter over a week ago, but… life got in the way and I had more pressing matters to take care of. (Healthcare and hospitals both suck ass.) Anyway, enjoy. I'll try to keep up with the little deadlines I gave myself. **

**I named Kagome's mother Asuka. But I will be referring to her as either Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome's mom, or Asuka as I see fit. **

**Inu papa is named Daichi, and I'll call him whatever seems fit as well. **

_**Just so you know...**_

* * *

"_Mmm…" _Kagome mumbled and shifted under her blankets, enjoying the way her white cotton sheets felt against her skin that morning. Though the ground outside was blanketed with a fresh coat of snow, she was quite warm and content in her room and thanked whatever god was listening for the creation of the electric heater. Her happiness, however, was short lived when her door slammed open and an overly exuberant Souta came running in.

"Kagome, wake up!" he yelled, bursting in and jumping onto her bed.

She rolled over and groaned, pulling her pillow over her head. "No. Go back to bed."

The boy stopped jumping and sat his knees on her legs, which was pretty painful for the both of them, but neither wished to acknowledge it. "But nee-chan! Guess what today is!"

"Monday." she mumbled into her pillow, waving him off.

"No!" He pulled her hair and threw the calendar at her. She looked it and noticed it was indeed Monday, but there was a big red circle around this particular date - the 10th. It took her a while to process it, and Souta, impatient with his older sibling's morning incompetence, yelled at her. "Its your birthday, baka!"

She held her hands over her ears and scowled at him. "Well, yeah, I can see that! As a present you can let me sleep. Go away." She plopped her head back down on her pillow and waved him off for the second time.

"Sesshoumaru and Rin are downstairs waiting for you."

And that was all it took to get her attention. "Sesshoumaru's here?!!"

"Yes! And he brought cake!!"

"Ayya!" she shouted, jumping out of bed and completely forgetting her earlier fatigue. "Get out! I gotta change! Out, out, out!!"

"Happy birthday, nee-chan!" he laughed, slamming her door shut as he fled the room.

Kagome squealed in delight. She hadn't seen Sesshoumaru since the new year. Their only means of communication were their cell phones, and she could tell the both of them were growing very impatient knowing they were so close yet so far at the same time; but any other way was simply too risky. Today would be different. She was, at long last, eighteen and her lover had finally come to visit and rescue her from her little prison. Already her day was starting off on a good note. Quickly getting dressed, she pulled on a white halter sundress, lightly donned her face with a bit of make up, and clasped the necklace he gave her on new year's eve together around her neck. She didn't even bother to check herself in the mirror before running downstairs to greet him.

"Sesshou-kun!" she cried, skipping down the stairs and jumping into his waiting arms.

He chuckled. "Happy birthday, koi."

She didn't even bother responding because two seconds later, the two had their lips tightly locked together with tongues battling for dominance over the other. Souta only gave a look of disgust as he rolled his eyes while Rin giggled at the two.

"Does this mean mommy and daddy are married now?"

Kagome's mother came out in time to see Sesshoumaru cup his hands around her daughter's behind. She quickly ran over to Rin and pulled her into the kitchen. "Why don't we make cookies for mommy, ok?"

Sesshoumaru pulled slightly away from her lips, smiling, and asked, "Don't you think that dress is a bit inappropriate for the weather?"

"Never. I'm eighteen now."

He chuckled softly. "That doesn't mean you're invincible."

"Pft. So?" she rolled her eyes. "It's my day. I do what I want, damnit!"

Had she been anyone else, Sesshoumaru would have probably forced her to go upstairs and change into something more appropriate for winter, but this was Kagome. She was his little spitfire and found she took great pleasure in challenging the very things she had no control over whatsoever. He even found he enjoyed watching her do so, which only made him want her more.

"I have a special gift for you, koi?" he purred into her ear.

She leaned her head into his and softly sighed. "And what is that?"

"You'll have to wait until later." he said, nipping at her earlobe.

"God, you two!" Souta yelled, interrupting their little moment. "Its only been nine days and you act like its been years!"

Sesshoumaru looked over to the boy and chuckled. "Do you not remember the pain you felt the week you were separated from your video game?"

He nodded.

"And what did you do when I returned it?"

"Played it for two weeks straight!"

"Your sister is similar to that."

Souta gasped. "You're going to play with her for two weeks?!"

Kagome's face immediately turned many shades of red. "Souta!"

* * *

With her mother's blessing, and careful strategic planning, Sesshoumaru was able to take Kagome out for the day, which she was very grateful for and thoroughly enjoyed. The two, along with Rin, started off their day at a small diner followed by a movie right after. They then made it back home, still safe from the media's flashing cameras, where Rin presented Kagome her gift of two dozen giant chocolate chip cookies and even helped her eat them. Having spent most of her day running around with Rin, Kagome was dead tired and would have liked nothing more than to go back upstairs and take a long nap in her nice warm bed, but according to Sesshoumaru, the day was nowhere near being finished yet. His father's arrival and her mother pulling out old movies were proof of that. Both the Higurashi and Taisho families, save for Inuyasha, were now seated in the living room watching old baby videos of Kagome, who was now blushing like mad at one particular scene of her three year old self stuffing money into her diaper.

"_Kagome, what are you doing?" _her mother's voice asked from behind the camera.

A young Kagome was standing in a white crib giggling and smiling at the camera in front of her.

"_Happy Birthday! To me!" _she sang.

"_How old are you?" _

Baby Kagome held up three pudgy fingers. _"This many!"_

"_Can you dance for mama?" _

She stopped smiling and shook her head 'no.'

"_What about papa?"_ her dad asked, walking into the shot.

She giggled at him and stood up in her crib.

"_Off!" _she called, holding up her arms to him.

"_First dance for papa." _he told her, smiling, then giving the camera a knowing glance.

The present Kagome groaned. She knew what was going to happen next and covered her eyes with her hands, too scared to watch what was going to happen next.

Back on the screen, the three year old Kagome began to sway her hips in her money stuffed diaper. Without her shirt, it looked like a baby strip tease.

Sesshoumaru chuckled inwardly at this as he held her hand. "You're quite the dancer, Kagome."

"Shut up." she muttered.

The next footage played, fast forwarding seven years. A smiling 10 year old Kagome was standing outside the shrine dressed in miko garbs and was holding a bow and arrow.

"_Kagome, what's today?" _her mother asked, again behind the camera.

"_Today is February second." _she said.

"_And what are you doing?" _

"_Grandpa wanted me to dress up and shoot that target over there." _she pointed to a target across the shrine set up right in front of the Goshinboku tree.

"_Do you know why?" _

"_To make more money?" _

Her mother laughed. _"Besides that." _

"_Something about a girl shooting someone to the tree a whole lotta years ago." _

"_Close enough." _her mother laughed again before shutting the camera off.

The next scene played and showed Kagome in stance getting ready to shoot her arrow. The crowd was hushed and watched in anticipation as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath in, and let the arrow fly loose from her grip. It landed with a soft 'thwack' right in the center of the target as the spectators stood back and gasped in awe. Inuyasha was standing off in the corner next to his father and mother jumping around and waiting for her to walk over and greet him. A young Sesshoumaru was just glaring at his brother, no doubt agitated by the boy's antics, which did look pretty annoying, one had to admit. Kagome smiled one last time at the camera and waved before it shut off, ending the movie.

Mrs. Higurashi came walking out holding a giant cake with Sesshoumaru's father and everyone else following in tow singing the dreaded happy birthday song. Kagome jumped when she heard them. She hadn't realized everyone but Sesshoumaru left and wasn't expecting a cake as big as the one the two adults were holding.

Rin jumped into Kagome's lap. "'Gome okaa-san! Blow out candles!"

She laughed and held Sesshoumaru's hand as she blew out the eighteen candles on her cake.

As the lights flickered on, Kagome noticed the cake had white and red frosting. Good luck colors. She couldn't help but think of Inuyasha and felt her anger rise. Sesshoumaru saw this and quickly changed the subject.

"After this I have dinner reservations planned for just the two of us."

That worked. He noticed her visibly calm down and the two were able to enjoy the rest of the night with their families.

* * *

"Rin sleep with Mama-baachan?" The tiny girl ran up to Kagome's mother and held her arms up, signaling she wanted to be picked up.

"Rin," Kagome called from the other room, "your otou-san is getting ready to leave."

Sesshoumaru pulled his jacket on and grabbed her by the waist, whispering rather seductively into her ear, "Rin is going to spend the night here while you and I spend the rest of _our_ evening together."

Blushing, she had to admit, sometimes he really knew how to talk to her. "My mother doesn't mind any of this?"

"She's the one who opted for Rin to spend the night here."

Her face suddenly went blank. "Oh."

"Rin, do you want to say good night to daddy?" Asuka came in holding Rin, her sleepy head resting on the woman's shoulder.

The girl held her arms out to Sesshoumaru, who gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek as she clung desperately to him.

"You behave for Mrs. Higurashi while Kagome and I are gone." he told her. "I'll come back to pick you up later."

"Don't go!" she cried, holding onto him tighter. "Rin will be good!"

Kagome touched her back. "Rin…"

The girl turned around and grabbed Kagome's shirt, holding fast. "Don't leave Rin! Rin promise to be good! No leave!!"

"We'll be back in a few hours, Rin." he said.

"No die!!" she screamed, more tears falling from her face.

Kagome gave a knowing glance to her mother and took Rin into her arms. "Come with me, Rin. I want to talk to you real quick."

She led the girl to the living room couch and sat down with her on her lap.

"Gome okaa-san stay forever?" she sniffed, whiping her nose with her shirt sleeve.

She touched her cheek and softly smiled. "No, Rin. Otou and I are going out to dinner for a couple hours… but we _will _come back."

The girl's eyes watered more and she began to whimper. "But Rin was good. Otou and okaa no love Rin?!"

"Of course we do, sweetheart!" she said, wrapping her arms protectively around her, "but tonight we're going to spend time alone."

"Why?"

"Because Rin was with us all day and now its time for us to go out and do grown up things."

"Why?"

"…because sometimes adults need to be alone for a while."

"Why?"

She was at a loss. "Uhmm…"

"Because we need to make sure all the monsters in Rin's room are gone and we don't want them to come out and scare you. But we need to make sure we eat lots of food so we have enough energy." Sesshoumaru said.

Kagome was horrified with his reply, but was surprised when Rin nodded her head in agreement.

"You promise to come back?"

She looked into the girl's eyes and saw the fear and concern buried within them. There was no way she would destroy her hopes and said the two words she thought she'd never have to tell her own child.

"I promise."

She kissed Rin's forehead as she wrapped her tiny arms around Kagome's neck and said goodbye.

Sesshoumaru led Kagome out the door and promised they'd be back before shutting it behind him.

"You make that seem so easy." he commented.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Believe me, its not."

* * *

Sesshoumaru drove the two of them to a restaurant, safe from Tokyo and its meddling paparazzi, where they spent the next two hours dining on traditional Japanese delicacies while chatting amongst one another and occasionally finding one of their hands on the other's thigh.

"The food here was great, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome announced as soon as they were safely back in the car. "How did you find it?"

He chuckled, putting the key in the ignition. "You're talking to a lawyer, Kagome, and a very powerful one at that. I'm constantly going out to lunch with people for various reasons. It's part of what I do."

She suddenly found herself feeling very mischievous. "What else do you do?" she said, eyeing him carefully.

He looked at her and took his hands off the wheel, wondering what she was trying to get at. "Many things."

"Like?" she said, moving her face closer to his neck. He let a soft growl escape his throat.

"I give people the punishment they deserve…" he growled, their lips lightly touching, his tongue sliding over hers, "make them beg…" her mouth slightly opened and he slid his tongue in, tasting as much of her mouth as he could, "make them scream my name." She moaned as he nuzzled his face to her neck and kissed her along her collarbone. Quickly she took off her seatbelt and climbed into his lap; her white skirt feathering out around them. She cupped his face into her hands as he held her waist with his and crouched down, smothering him with her kisses as he let his hands explore her hips and backside.

"I love you." she breathed, unbuttoning his pants.

He stopped her with his hands. "Here?"

She confirmed, "Here."

He sighed. As much as he would have loved to ravish her beautiful… tantalizing body, he couldn't allow her first time to be in the driver's seat of his car. It didn't seem right. It wasn't right.

"Kagome," he pulled her hands away from him and placed them into her lap. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" she growled. "I'm ready."

He closed his eyes. "This isn't right."

She just looked at him. Lust and frustration written plainly across her face. "In case you haven't noticed, _I'm 18 now Sesshou_."

"It isn't that."

She rolled over and sat back in her seat. "Well, then what is it? Do you not-"

"Kagome," he interrupted. "We're in a car. This is beneath the both of us."

Her hands fiddled awkwardly on the hem of her skirt. She hadn't really thought about where they were. "I-I'm sorry."

Sesshoumaru placed his hand over hers and gave her a reassuring smile. "You don't have to apologize." he said before leaning over to kiss her. "I still have a gift for you at home."

She nodded and smiled as he started the car's engine and sped off.

* * *

Back at the shrine, Rin was silently waiting by the front door, standing on the couch and looking out the window for some kind of sign that Sesshoumaru and Kagome were back. They were gone for over two hours and it was now too dark for her to see anything outside except for the moving lights of passing cars. For the tenth time that night, a small car sped by, its headlights teasing the girl as her eyes widened and hopes brought up only to be torn down two seconds later when she realized it wasn't them.

The two adults, Daichi and Asuka, kept a close eye on the girl as this happened and wondered how long she would keep it up.

"Rin," Daichi called walking from the kitchen into the living room, "would you like some coffee?"

Asuka frowned at him. It wasn't a very good idea to give coffee to a toddler to begin with, and it was already late! There was no doubt that if she did drink the liquid, she would be up for hours, but the girl did need something to get her mind off the outside world.

"No." she mumbled, still looking out the window.

"How about some Froot Loops?" he asked.

"No."

Another car came by and Rin went through the same routine: surprise, happiness, dejection.

"Jii-chan?" she whimpered, still looking out the window.

He walked over to her tiny body standing on the couch and pulled her in his lap. "What's the matter, tenshi?"

She nestled her face in his chest. "Where's okaa-san and otou-sama?"

"They're out having dinner. You know that."

"No, I mean my other otou and okaa."

Her question caught him completely off guard. Not once did she ever question her biological parent's death. He thought she had forgotten about them, but apparently she didn't, and he mentally slapped himself for thinking she ever would. He was silent for a moment and contemplated the best answer he could come up with.

"They're taking a long nap somewhere far away."

She looked up innocently at him. A million questions running through her eyes. "Where?"

'Crap.'

He rubbed the back of his head, wondering how he should answer. "Uhh… well, you see…"

"Rin, they're in Heaven." Asuka said, walking into the room.

She sat down next to the two. Kagome asked the same questions the day her father didn't walk through the front door announcing he was home from work, as did Souta when he came home asking why he didn't have a dad to play baseball with like his other friends did. She was more than familiar with these questions.

"Where's that at?" she asked, more interested in the woman's response than her grandfather's.

Asuka grabbed Rin's hand and pressed it to her tiny chest. "Its in a special place in your heart. The good people and demons that you've met in your life will go there when its time for them to take their long nap."

"Oh… does jii-chan go there when he goes to sleep? He doesn't wake up until Rin jumps on him."

Daichi chocked back a laugh as she said that.

The woman smiled. "No, sweetheart. This is a special nap where you won't wake up. Don't worry, its not going to happen to any of us anytime soon."

"Oh... What's in Heaven?"

"Many things!" Daichi piped up. "You can drink all the coffee and eat all the Froot Loops you want without getting a tummy ache." he said, poking the girl's stomach, making her giggle.

Her eyes twinkled. "Can Rin go to Heaven now!!?"

She patted the girl's head. "I'm sorry, not yet. Once you go there, you can't come back. How do you think your current otou and okaasan would feel when they come home and don't see you anywhere?"

"Otou and okaa can't come with me?"

She shook her head. "They still have a lot of things left to do here, and so do you."

Rin bowed her head and after thinking it over, answered, "Oh."

**

* * *

**

**And yeah, yeah. I know I switch between English and Japanese. I like to. I do it at home. Don't kill me! **

**-VG-**


	13. Murphy's Law

**Ok, I'd like to first start off by saying how sorry I am for taking forever to update. My muse is being a little bitch right now, so it might slow down to maybe one update a month. But thank you for sticking with me!! **

**Now, I have a bit of a favor to ask for any artists out there...  
What I'm looking for is someone who is willing to draw at least one or two scenes from this story. (or however many scenes you want) Draw however you see it, no matter how plain or extravagant, color or none. Full credit will go to artist. If you're willing to take this on, go ahead and message me.  
I'm sorry, but I have no moneys to pay you. But you'd be getting full credit and lots of advertising from me. Good art inspires me and I'm in desperate need of a muse!!**

**LAST A/N  
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINED A LEMON. But due to fanfiction's explicit no no, I couldnt post it. I'm really sorry for that, but you can check it out at a single spark. Its waiting for you there in all its smutty glory. **

* * *

"Oh my God! Sesshoumaru! A mink stoll?! A real MINK stoll!!" 

Two big boxes lay at an ecstatic Kagome's feet. One wrapped delicately in thin silver wrapping, while the other sat torn open and spilled of it's contents. The quiet, timid, Kagome from a few hours ago was replaced by the mind of a hyper, young child ready to skip around the room and shout out to anyone who could hear about her new gift. Although she wasn't much for material things, she still had that shrilly feminine voice inside of her that screamed in pleasure for things as rare as receiving your very own piece of fur from none other than your own lover.

Said lover was sitting on the couch gazing at the hyper woman before him, contemplating as to whether or not if it was a good idea to let her open her next gift.

"You do know there's an even bigger box waiting for you." he reminded her as she spun around wrapped in her little white pelt of fur. She stopped and looked at him with playful eyes.

"A bigger one?" she giggled, holding up the fur.

He shrugged. "Kagome…"

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the box. "Fine, fine. Smaller is okay, too."

There are very few times in a woman's life where her lover would dote expensive things, such as over 600 dollars worth of fur, on his mate, and for Kagome, this was one of those times. Sesshoumaru couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at how the girl before him could hardly contain herself as she pulled out a very big, black, fur coat and began dancing around nearly screaming in excitement. He knew the price and rarity of the furs he bought would make any woman weak at the knees, but to him they were just another woman's accessory. He had to admit, though, these particular accessories did look rather attractive on her. The salesclerk didn't let him down.

"Its just a piece of fur," he smirked at her.

She stopped spinning to look him in the face. "Yes, but this piece of fur is from you and is about the equivalent to a 24 karat diamond ring. It is priceless."

He stood and smiled, walking towards her in the center of the intricately decorated living room. His large hands wrapped themselves under her coat and securely around her hips as he placed light kisses along her neck. "Turns out even the priceless things contain some kind of hefty fee." he said, pressing his lips against hers.

She smiled against his lips. "But I loveth my new fluffies. Although, you really shouldn't make it a habit to spoil me."

"I hardly call this spoiling." he said, "After that little bout in the snow some weeks ago, I felt it was my duty to supply you with the necessary clothing should you ever find yourself in that predicament ever again. Besides, you're going to definitely need them in a few weeks when the two of us go to Sapporo."

"Sa-Sapporo??" She nearly shrieked in excitement.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I have some business matters to take care of and figured we could enjoy the snow festival while we're there."

Her eyes glossed over as she looked into his. "Just the two of us?"

He nodded only to find her jump up and press her lips hard against his. A deep growl formed in his throat as he felt her pelvis grind against his. Letting his instincts take over, he moved his hands up her back and around her shoulders, pulling the bothersome coat off of her and tossing it to the floor behind them. It didn't matter where the thing landed. It was still just a piece of fur to him, nowhere near the enigmatic beauty of the girl before him. He finally had her and she was quickly evolving into the woman she'd become: his. She was starting to open up more, speak her mind, gain the confidence she needed to get her through life… the same confidence she once had on the archery field. Whether she knew it or not, Sesshoumaru couldn't tell. He didn't care, though he did wish she'd get back into it for her own sake. But all that mattered at that moment was the young woman who was finally safe in his arms begging him, and him only, for a different kind of comfort. That half-brother of his truly was an idiot.

"I love you."

Why that shy little voice made him react the way he did, he'd never know, for the next second, he led her down the hallway, stopping every so often to remove some article of clothing, until they both fell half naked onto his bed cuddled in each others heated embrace. His large form towered over her petite body, trapping her between two nicely tones arms. She tilted her head up to kiss his neck and found him nuzzling her with his nose as she did so. After a strange noise came from his throat, she realized he was purring.

'Ah, so the great lord has a weak spot, eh?' she giggled silently to herself.

Of course, all her silent giggles immediately came to a halt when she felt the familiar touch of a certain hand as it caressed her thigh.

"Don't think you caught me that easily, koi." he purred in her ear before locking his gaze with hers. She bent up and kissed his nose.

**O.O---------------------------AND THEN THEY HAD SEX**

**SHIELD YOUR EYES----------------------------O.O**

He slid out of her and pulled her body close, her back facing him, as he placed his nose at the base of her neck, taking in her scent. She sighed as he began to nip at her neck, which only made him harden again.

"Sessh… ou… maru," she mumbled, "I feel so tired."

He lovingly stroked the side of her face and kissed her temple. "Sleep, koi. I will be here when you wake."

She reached behind and grabbed his hand, pulling his arm over her torso, and held it tightly before sleep overcame both their bodies.

* * *

"_Kagome? Kagome, wake up!" _

Her eyes fluttered open to see a pair of golden orbs staring down at her in concern.

"Wh-what is it?" she asked, groggily before yawning.

"Rin and Souta… there was an accident. Both our parents are in the hospital right now with them."

Kagome's face paled considerably before she shot up. "What?! When did this happen?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I don't know, but I just got off the phone with your mother. We need to get over there right now."

She didn't need to be told twice to get dressed. She jumped out of bed, despite her appearance, and rushed around the room to find her clothes while Sesshoumaru ran to get the car started.

The ride to the hospital wasn't a very comforting one. The last time she was told there was an 'accident,' it involved her father and a drunk driver. She only prayed Souta and Rin didn't have to suffer his same fate. Once they arrived in the lobby, Sesshoumaru rushed to the front desk.

"Rin Taisho and Souta Higurashi. Where are they?" he practically shouted at the woman in the front desk.

The young, short-haired, clerk sat behind a cheap plastic window typing lazily on the computer in front of her before looking up at him -in what looked like lust- until she saw Kagome walk up beside him and quickly changed her expression to something similar to a disgusted growl.

"I'm sorry, sir," she told him, rather cockily, realizing she had the upper hand in the situation, "but I cannot release any patient information to you…"

"I am her father." he growled.

"Do you have proof?"

Sesshoumaru growled at the girl before slamming his hand against the plastic, startling both her and Kagome, holding his driver's license up for her to clearly see.

The girl typed a few things into the computer again before turning back to them.

"Alright, Sesshoumaru-"

"It's Mr. Taisho to you, girl." he spat.

"_Mr. Taisho, _you can see Rin… but you," she pointed to Kagome, "Only Taisho here is listed as a contact. You will have to wait here."

"But what about Souta?!" Kagome yelled at her. "You can't keep me from my brother!"

"I'm sorry, but Higurashi's guardian is already here. You'll have to either wait here or leave, bu-"

"The woman you are talking to is my wife and you will refrain from speaking to her in such a way." Sesshoumaru all but growled. "You will tell me which rooms both Higurashi and Taisho children are in, and she will be going with me to visit both her brother and daughter."

Kagome could only stare at him wide-eyed as the girl turned red from embarrassment.

'Did he just call me his _wife?!_'

"Sesshoumaru?"

Both Kagome and Sesshoumaru turned around to see his father standing by the elevators, stress and concern plainly written across his face as he called out to them. Kagome ran up to him in tears.

"What happened to them? Where are they?!"

Daichi wrapped his arms around her as she cried. "Shhh. They are alive. Come. They are both in ICU."

"ICU?" Sesshoumaru questioned. "Father, tell me what happened."

He didn't say anything as he ushered the two back into an open elevator before pressing onto the number 4. "I will explain when we get there."

"But are they alright?" Kagome cried between sobs. "How bad are their injuries?"

Daichi remained silent. He could barely process everything that had happened in the past two hours himself. It had all happened so fast. From the police reports to waiting blindly in the waiting room, it all seemed so surreal. One minute he was chatting with Asuka, the next, he was chasing after his granddaughter only to find both her and Kagome's younger brother laying unconscious in the middle of the street.

The elevator doors slid open revealing a hall of white. Doctors and nurses were running back and forth, following the beeping of their pagers calling some odd code. Despite all this, the entire floor remained eerily quiet.

Kagome looked around her, searching for the familiar face of her mother or grandfather, but all she saw were doctors and other medical personnel. Sesshoumaru was talking to his father off to the side.

"Don't tell Kagome anything until we are absolutely sure it was him. They are still gathering information from the other witnesses."

Sesshoumaru nodded his head then walked over to the waiting Kagome. "They are in room 403. Come." He had that emotionless mask spread on his face, but she knew he was just as worried as she was, if not more so.

The two walked together in the room with Daichi following close behind to find both Rin and Souta laying in separate beds; one unconscious, the other being held close by the woman she dubbed as her grandmother.

"Rin?"

The little girl heard her name being called and lifted her teary eyes to see a blurred vision of both Kagome and her father walking towards her. "Okaa!" she cried, holding her bandaged arms out.

For a second, Kagome was a bit reluctant to hold her. Her tiny body was covered with various bruises, cuts and bandages, she was afraid she might hurt her if she held her the wrong way; however, all her concerns were completely thrown out the window as soon as the little girl wrapped her arms around Kagome's waist and clung onto her form tightly. She smiled down at her and held her body close, rubbing small circles on her back.

"You no leave Rin." the little girl sniffed, grabbing onto her tighter.

"I told you I'd be back, Rin. I wouldn't lie to you."

Rin looked up at Kagome's kind face and immediately felt regret. She buried her face in her shirt and cried out. "Rin is sorry! It's all Rin's fault!"

Kagome looked back up at Sesshoumaru hoping he'd have some kind of answer for her, but he just shrugged. "What's Rin's fault?" she asked, looking back down at the crying girl who now lifted her head back up and pointed to the unconscious Souta.

"Rin runned away and Souta-sama saved her and got hurted."

Sesshoumaru glared back at his father and Kagome's mother. "Explain."

Daichi looked down at Rin and patted her disheveled hair before giving an exasperated sigh. "Then you better sit because I'm only going to tell you once, and I don't want you going out on a man hunt. I'm expecting a phone call from the police any minute."

He nodded and took a seat next to Kagome, pulling Rin into his lap where she proceeded to play with a lock of his hair, uninterested in the boring stories the grown ups seemed to like hearing. She never really understood why they always sat down looking mad while they talked when there were so many cool shiny things all around just waiting to be played with. They didn't even want to jump on the cool moving bed! It was a lot better than her little pink bed at home.

"Otou-sama?" she asked him, looking up.

Sesshoumaru looked back down at her. "Hmm?"

"Can Rin have this bed?"

He softened his eyes a little. Children were so unaware to all the evils in the world sometimes. "Wait until your first bed is too small." he patted her head.

Daichi couldn't help but smile at this. 'Ah… ignorant little child…'

"Alright…, Rin was standing by the window watching out for you two, when I decided I should get her mind on something else. So we watched cartoons on the television while Asuka busied herself in the kitchen until it got late. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Rin was giggling saying she heard your car while Asuka started yelling as soon as I heard the door swing open. It all happened so fast…

"She was already down the shrine's steps by the time I got outside. A little red car came speeding down the street, Rin went running toward it, then the next thing I know, Souta jumps in and takes the brunt of it all. He must have been coming home from his friend's house and saw the whole thing just in time. The car didn't even stop. It looked like it almost lost control for a second, but it kept going. Some of the neighbors caught a glimpse of the license plate and the police are putting a search out for the car."

"What kind of car was it?" Sesshoumaru growled out.

"A little red convertible. The hood was up, though, so no one could get a description on the driver."

Kagome remained silent the whole time. Somehow she had managed to keep a straight face throughout Daichi's story, but inside, she felt as if she would throw up. Not very many people drove little red convertibles in her part of town, and she knew of only one person who did.

'But he wouldn't do something like this… would he? No. He couldn't…'

There was a silence that filled the room. Clearly everyone was thinking hard. She only wondered if anyone had similar thoughts as hers.

'But he couldn't even kill a fly…'

Suddenly, Daichi's cell phone went off. Everyone leaned forward trying to listen to the conversation.

"Mhmm…" he nodded, "No, I will deal with him. Bring him up here."

'Bring who here??'

He growled. "Fine, if you must. Good bye."

The phone slammed shut.

"They found the owner of the car." he said out loud, still staring at his phone. He looked up at Kagome, a new expression she had never before seen on the older Taisho's face. "Asuka… Kagome… I truly am sorry."

Before Kagome could ask why, there was a knock on the door. "Mr. Taisho, we have him here. Do you really want us to bring him in?"

The voice sounded like it was coming from an officer… or some kind of person of authority. After all, doctors don't really yell in an ICU ward.

"Yes." he sighed. "I will deal with him."

"Father," Sesshoumaru interrupted, "why would you even think of--" but he was cut off as soon as the door opened.

Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru. "Sesshou…?"

"_Why the fuck do you think I did it?!" _

'That voice…' She looked from the growling Sesshoumaru and turned her head to the doorway.

"Inuyasha?"

* * *

**AND THE PLOT THICKENS!!! **

**was that awesome or what? **

**Again, I really am sorry I couldn't post the whole thing. I hate editing. grrrr  
Remember: a-single-spark  
pen name and title are the same**

**Don't bite my head off, (I already have a big enough headache...)**

**-VG-**


	14. Pas de Deux

**I'M BAAAAAACK and I bring ten pages worth of drama goodness! **

**I've been getting some questions on why I name the chapter titles the way I do (one of my many quirks)...  
This one is named Pas de Deux, which in French means, "Step for/of Two." In this chapter, you'll see a bit of how a relationship between two people works and the events that follow. You can decide which two people/demons after reading. **

**ANYWAY, I got a new-ish muse!   
Coffee, classical music, annnnnnd comfort.  
The three C's.   
Live by them. mhmm **

**...or just go read. **

* * *

The yellow lighting of the street lamps glowed softly in the moonlight as a small red convertible sped down the street; the neighborhood's inhabitants not once roused from their slumber as the car's roaring engine pressed on.

"Kikyo!" the voice from the passenger's seat shouted to the driver, "I don't see why you're so mad. Kagome was my best friend and I'll be damned if I miss a birthday, no matter how everything ended up."

"Why should you care about her?" she cried, "Lately everything's been about her! Kagome this, Kagome that! I thought you loved me?!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Of course I love you, but I've known Kagome ever since we were kids. I want to at least wish her a happy birthday real quick. Now slow down before you crash my car into something!"

He couldn't figure out what had possessed him into letting Kikyo drive his beloved red convertible. It could have been the fact that she nearly threw a tantrum at him in the middle of the fancy restaurant they had dined at earlier, saying how only men paid for the bill. (More like screamed.) He really only wanted an extra dollar or two for the tip. But to save himself any further embarrassment from the many gawking eyes, he told her he'd let her drive his car around town, in which she jumped in favor for that idea wholeheartedly.

All was going well for the time being. Kikyo was having the time of her life pushing 80mph in a residential area, while Inuyasha was just thankful there were no police cars chasing them for a ticket, most likely because she refused to turn the car's headlights on, until he suddenly remembered Kagome's birthday and asked her to stop by the girl's house for a few minutes. The atmosphere only went downhill from there. So here he was, nearly ready to wet his new pair of designer pants should the girl decide to speed through another red light.

'Must be her time of the month.' he thought dourly to himself.

"Kikyo… babe. Please?" he begged. He couldn't believe he had actually reduced himself to begging the wench, and was actually wondering whether or not this relationship was worth it.

'Of course it is… right?'

Amazingly, she stopped at a red light and looked over at him. The way his face and body contorted showing his pleading movements almost made her want to pinch his cheek.

'Well… he _is _a lot more nicer than Naraku ever was… maybe just once.' she thought before the light turned green.

The car drove for another five minutes in total silence until she finally answered him, rather reluctantly. "Fine. But only for a little while. You promised me tonight would only be for us, remember?"

He sighed. Of course he remembered. He had been looking forward to seeing her ever since his father had banished him from talking to her for reasons unknown. Yet now, he was beginning to wonder if the old man had something going, because tonight, she was really pushing him over the edge.

"I remember." he told her before kissing her cheek. "Thanks, babe. Did I ever tell you your new perfume smells great?"

Kikyo seemed impassive. 'Finally he mentions something about it. Idiot. Its only that super expensive Bellflower...' "What street does she live on?"

"Uh… Shikon. It's the next one on the right." he pointed out.

'I remember now. The bitch lives it up surrounded by the upper class…'

"You should really turn the headlights on. Its after midnight." he told her, noticing she was doing 60 in a fairly small neighborhood with probably only three streetlamps.

The girl didn't seem to hear him and sped up. '…and her perfect little shrine with her perfect little pedophile boyfriend…'

"Kikyo?"

'…whose probably fucked her loose by now… useless whore…'

"Kikyo!" he yelled, his anger at being ignored rising to the surface.

"What?!" she screamed back.

"Turn the fucking lights on before you run into something!"

She glared at him and reached over to press the damned button before looking over at him. "I'm not going to hit anyone!" But just as the lights turned on, Inuyasha immediately looked forward and saw two small bodies in the street.

"Souta?!"

Kikyo screamed and hit the breaks seconds before the car struck the two tiny bodies on impact, only to hear a muffled thud in front of them. When the shocking realization of what had just happened clicked in her mind, she pressed on the gas as hard as she could and sped off. What was really five seconds of horror seemed like an eternity - one she really didn't wish to go through again.

'Shit, shit, shit, shit, fuck, crap, damn…'

Inuyasha could only stare wide eyed at her. "What are you doing?! Go back!"

"No!"

"What the hell are you saying?! That was Kagome's little brother!" He tried reaching over to grab a hold of the steering wheel, but she quickly swerved, jolting him backwards against the passenger door.

"We are _not _going back." she hissed, never stopping until the Taisho house came into view and the two were parked in the safety of the garage.

"Kikyo, we have to. You just did a hit and run. We could both be sent to jail!"

"No shit! I can't afford to be seen! Not since Naraku-" but she immediately stopped herself.

Inuyasha could only raise his eyebrow at her. Had he heard the girl right? Naraku? That couldn't possibly be the same Naraku that hired his best friend and then tried to rape her… could it?

"Naraku? Onigumo?" he softly asked her. "Kikyo…"

She ignored his questioning gaze and brought subject at hand back into the conversation. "Ok, look, we'll just leave the car here in the garage, and if anyone asks, we'll say we were in your house all night watching movies… and-"

"Kikyo." he said in a more demanding tone, rivaling that of both his father's and Sesshoumaru's. "What did you do with Naraku?"

"Who?" she asked, trying to feign innocence.

"Kikyo…" he all but growled. Seriously, this woman was really trying his patience tonight. First she embarrassed him at dinner, broke god knows how many laws behind the wheel of his car, and now couldn't even tell him the truth. He really didn't have time to play her games anymore. His best friend's younger brother was more likely than not dying on the side of the road in front of her own house! Probably even along with one of his friends! It did look like he saw two heads before the collision… but he wasn't sure. He just knew he had to get back over there and make sure the kid was alright. If Souta died… he didn't even want to think about it.

"_What did you do with Naraku?!" _

His words sent shivers up the girl's spine, and before she could comprehend everything, she found herself locked inside the car still parked in a dark garage and in the presence of a very pissed off hanyou.

"I-I don't know… what you mean, Inuyasha…"

"KIKYO!"

"Alright!" she screamed, holding her arms out. "I used to date him a few years ago! After a year he convinced me to have sex with him and I got pregnant. I had no choice but to abort it! It would have brought shame to my whole family! They would have disowned me!" by now she was in tears. "I can't dishonor them anymore, Inuyasha…" she sobbed some more. "I can't."

Inuyasha nearly gasped. "Kikyo…"

"I'm not going back Inuyasha."

He was silent for a moment. "I know. Get out of the car."

Kikyo sat there, stunned. "Inuyasha?"

"Get out of the car, Kikyo!" he snapped. It was hard enough forcing himself to do this, and her questioning him would only make it worse.

She slowly stepped out of the driver's seat and stood by the door, watching as the hanyou walked around and took her place by the door. What surprised her the most, however, was the pair of red, long-sleeved covered arms that made their way around her petite frame.

"I'm going back." she heard him whisper. "If anything should happen, I won't mention you… but… this- it means we can't be together anymore. Its too dangerous at this point and… fuck. Just know that I love you."

He closed his eyes in contentment as he felt her softly nod against his neck. "When I let go," he began again, "I want you to just turn around and walk out. Don't look back. You were never here. Ok?"

"Ok." she sniffed. He was only trying to protect her. As much as it pained her to hear him utter such words, she knew it was only for the best. Giving him one last squeeze, she quickly let go of him and left through the escalating garage door. Behind her, she could hear the hum of the little red car's engine slowly coming to life.

Inuyasha watched from the side view mirror as his first love made her way outside and into the night. Her walk home would be short, so he wasn't worried. The streetlamps would light her way. She would be safe…though now, he had to make sure Souta was as well. If the little runt ended up dead, he would never be able to live with himself.

'And who was that damn person he was holding?!'

He sped off down the road, bothered by those constant thoughts, until he finally saw the flashing lights of police sirens and ambulances flooding the street in front of Kagome's shrine.

"Shit." he muttered under his breath, slowly moving forward. 'Please be okay…'

As he pulled up to the bright neon caution tape, the ambulance was already turning the corner on the opposite end of the street. An old police officer waved him down and carefully walked over to him. The man was rather short and a bit too scraggly looking to be working as an officer, but Inuyasha paid his appearance no mind… 'Even though his eyes are about as big as saucers…'

"This road is blocked off to the public until further notice. Turn around and go away." he bit out in a deep, raspy, voice, clearly showing his old age.

"This is my friend's house. I need to check on her brother."

It was here the officer eyed the silver haired hanyou suspiciously. "And why would you need to check on the boy?"

"'Cause he just got hit!"

"By what?"

"Wha-- hey, what are you trying to get at, old man?"

"Totosai."

"Huh?"

"My name is Totosai. _Detective _Totosai to you, boy." he told him, looking over his car instead of him. "Get out of the car."

"Why?"

"Because I told you to. Now get out."

Inuyasha slowly took off his seatbelt and opened the door. The officer he now knew as _Detective_ Totosai was strangely calm, yet disturbing, throughout their whole conversation. Inuyasha didn't trust him. Totosai was thinking the same thing.

"Look man, I didn't do anything."

"Shut up, Inuyasha." he told him offhandedly. "Mo-Mo!"

A plump little officer came waddling up to Totosai and stood before him and Inuyasha.

"What's the license number on this little, red, car?" he asked, pointing to the car the boy just stepped out of.

Mo-Mo read off the letter and numbers on Inuyasha's license plate and then looked at his notepad. The same exact lettering was written on the pad in his hand, as well as a few descriptions of the car the neighbors saw at the time Souta was hit. The little officer's eyes widened in excitement.

"Its him! Sir, this is the car!"

Totosai rolled his eyes. The department really needed to hire some people with actual intellect. Someone with a name like Mo-Mo should have set off some warning lights, yet it apparently didn't. "Good, Mo-Mo. Put the young boy in the back of my car. I'll deal with him in a minute."

Inuyasha didn't even notice the handcuffs lock around his wrists as the half-witted officer put two and two together. He was too disturbed by the fact that it took the man over ten minutes to actually come to a conclusion. It was when Totosai told him to put him in the car that everything came crashing down.

"Hey! Wait! I wasn't driving the car!!" he shouted to the old, scraggly, man's shrinking form as he was being pulled away.

"That's why I told you to wait!" he shouted back, waving his left hand in the air.

"NO YOU DIDN'T!!"

Totosai put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Hmm… maybe I didn't. Ah, well. He can wait now." and he went back to search for his cell phone. He had to make an important call.

* * *

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome's grip on Sesshoumaru's hand tightened when she saw her very first best friend unwillingly stomp himself into the room, handcuffed, and followed by two officers.

"Kagome…" he whispered, then looked down at her right hand, which was gripping tightly to his older brother's. She was mad and confused. He could tell. A practical lifetime of knowing each other told him so.

"What's going on?" Her voice was more strong and matched that of Sesshoumaru's when he was angry, but she still held that uncertain, little, Kagome trait.

He looked at her straight in the eyes. "I didn't do it."

She just stared back at him.

"That's hard to believe when it was your car that hit both Souta _and _Rin!" Daichi hissed.

Realizing there were more people other than Kagome and Sesshoumaru in the room, he looked over to his father and widened his eyes. "It was Rin?"

Daichi furrowed his eyebrows. Inuyasha wasn't making any sense. 'Is this kid on drugs?! No… his scent proves he really is confused…' He looked back at Sesshoumaru holding Rin, who nodded in turn.

"Who was it, Inuyasha?"

The boy looked back at his older brother and frowned. "Who was what?"

'Ugh. He really is dense.' "Who was driving your car, hanyou?" he said, agitation evident in his voice.

"Hey! Don't call me that!"

Totosai turned to his accomplice. "Mo-Mo, get out."

The plump, little, officer turned to the older man and gave him a questioning look. "Why?"

"Baka!" the older man shouted, clonking the officer hard on the head with his fist. "Because I said so!"

Everyone in the room stared at the two officers. Totosai turned back to them after he was sure Mo-Mo left.

"I knew Master Inuyasha was innocent. I'm not a dimwitted human."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at the man. "How do you know my name?"

"Totosai is an old friend, Inuyasha." Daichi answered. "You're lucky he was the one who found you and brought you here."

"And I still have to keep him overnight!" the old man shouted.

Daichi nodded. "Just remember to keep the press out of this one."

"Of course."

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention once more. "My question still remains unanswered." He turned his head and glared at Inuyasha. "Who was it?"

Kagome squeezed Sesshoumaru's hand again and looked over at Inuyasha, softening her gaze. "Inuyasha… please?"

The silver colored dog shaped ears atop the boys head flattened as he looked at the floor tiles, hiding his eyes from everyone. "I don't know." he muttered.

"You're lying." Sesshoumaru growled.

"Inuyasha." This time it was Mrs. Higurashi that spoke up. He looked at her and saw hidden tears in her eyes. "My only son is in a coma right now… h-he was trying to protect Rin. Please just tell us the truth. It wasn't-"

"It was an accident!" he answered right away. "I just wanted to see Kagome…" his voice lowered to a whisper. "I've never missed a birthday."

The woman closed her eyes and nodded.

Everyone was silent again.

"Well, if that's it, I'll take him away now!" Totosai piped up, making everyone in the room, save for the unconscious Souta, jump at the sudden voice.

"And when he gets home, it'll all be over?" Kagome asked the man.

"What? Of course not! He still has to go before a judge."

"But you just said he was innocent. Can't you just write it up somewhere?"

"And say it was a ghost driving his car?!" he shouted.

Kagome looked over at Souta's nearly lifeless form and then back at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha… why can't you just tell us?"

The boy lowered his head. "I promised."

"Damn you Inu youkai and your stupid honor!" Totosai shouted. He was obviously tired and cranky at this point.

Rin, who remained eerily quiet throughout the whole thing, suddenly began giggling and quipped out a high pitched "Woof!"

Inuyasha remained silent.

"Fine!" Totosai gave up, "Keep your stupid girly bellflower scent to yourself. You'll tell me eventually."

"Bellflower?" Kagome questioned.

"The bellflower is a feminine scent, Kagome." Sesshoumaru muttered into her ear. "He's never carried it before, unless he changed sexual preferences in the last 24 hours."

Her eyes widened. "Bellflower… but that's- Kikyo!"

"Kagome, no!"

"Relax, baka." Totosai growled, hitting the top of Inuyasha's head with his fist. "You're free now."

"But Kikyo. I promised her."

"Totosai," Daichi interjected. "you have it written as an accident, do you not?"

"Maybe."

"Simply say the boy was suffering side effects of his prescription medicine and give him a fine. I'll have the necessary paperwork ready when I come pick him up from the station."

"Ahh, fine! You're lucky I do this for you!" He sounded genuinely disappointed now that he knew he couldn't do more to Inuyasha than keep him overnight.

With that being said, he pulled Inuyasha by the collar and out of the hospital room and left the building.

"What now?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"We wait for Souta to wake up. You only need to focus on the upcoming case. Did you get all the extra information?" Daichi asked.

Sesshoumaru nodded. Kagome didn't know anything about anything extra and merely gave them both a questioning look.

Daichi noticed her confusion and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry. It will all be over soon."

* * *

**Yeah... that ending looks rushed... **

**OMAIGAH! ITS ALMOST OVER! WAHHHHH  
_chya right... knowing me, I'll add even more to the plot...  
Like with Totosai... I just kinda threw him in there 'cause I felt like it... _**

**ANYWAY. The Bellflower. For those of you who I just KNOW are going to ask, Kikyo's character in the manga/anime was named after the Chinese Bellflower, so thats pretty much where I got that from... don't eat me!  
I got a bitter little flame from someone already about not being accurate enough... or... _something_... and pretty much caught me off guard. Now I'm paranoid. **

**Whatever. My story, my rules. **

**See you all next month!**

**-VG-**


	15. The Die is Cast

**Well, lookie who finally decided to add an update! I have a pretty decent reason... that I'll post in my profile later on. I'm going to later fix up a few chapters so they flow better, so you may get updates on random chapters you already read. There will be no need to reread. If you have any objection to that, I apologize in advance.**

* * *

The soft hum of the gigantic jet engines did nothing to alleviate Kagome's uneasiness as she sat trembling in her seat, occasionally looking out the window at the greens, browns, and yellows of the landscape below her. If anything, it only worsened her fear of heights. As a child, she normally enjoyed such a view when her father took her on plane rides to some of his business trips; such was not the case today. Seeing various land masses from up above now made her wonder what would happen should the plane suddenly fly into a storm, or worse, run out of fuel. Those, along with many other morbid thoughts, had been running through her mind as of late and there seemed to be no sign of them letting up anytime soon. Sesshoumaru noticed her change in behavior and tried his best to comfort her, but he, as well as everyone else, knew that because of the cards she was recently dealt, nothing would ever be the same. Her outside view, and train of thought, was suddenly blocked off as the window shade was pulled down by his large, pastel-tinted, hand.

"Calm down, we're almost there." he soothed, grasping her tiny palm in his.

"I don't care," she breathed, trying to convince herself. "I'm not going to be able to enjoy this week, anyway. We should have just cancelled it. Or at least have put Rin in my place. What were you thinking, leaving her with our parents?!"

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Kagome, you knew very well that this trip was inevitable for me to make. Even if you do not wish to enjoy yourself, I am comforted in knowing you are with me here than alone in Tokyo. As for Rin, she is safe with your mother."

"She wasn't safe a month ago…" she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms.

"I heard that." he chastised. "You forget who you are talking to."

"Yeah, yeah. Inu hearing." she grumbled.

"And you must forgive our parents for what happened that night. It was late-"

"I'm not mad about that!" she almost shouted, capturing the attention of several people before turning pink and sinking back into her seat. "Its just… I jus- I'm sick of it all. Naraku and everything. We were so close…"

He gave her a soft look and wrapped his arms around her petite frame, softly kissing her forehead. "No one could have expected what he did. But with all this new information working against him, soon even the government will be hell-bent on locking him away."

"So why do I feel like I'm the one who's running?"

"You aren't. Naraku is the one who escaped that poorly guarded prison, not you. I am doing everything in my power to see to your safety. As far as you are concerned, you are traveling with me to see the Sapporo snow festival as we've had planned since January."

"And if someone sees us?" she questioned.

"It matters not." he said, grasping her hand once more. "It has already been publicized and no threats have fallen on any of us. They have actually gone so far as to heighten security at the festival. If Naraku so much as steps into that city, he will be caught. You will be safe."

"Something bad is going to happen." she sighed, staring at the covered window.

"And I will be there to protect you." he told her, tightening his grip.

* * *

'Whoa.'

That was the only word that came to mind as Kagome marveled at the giant hotel suite before her. Sesshoumaru had commissioned one of the largest rooms in the Sapporo Grand Hotel for the two, and it seemed money was definitely no issue. The hostess called it the "Comfort Deluxe Double Room," though Kagome was sure her family would have called it "Home." The soft glow of the wall lamps danced across the cream colored walls as the bright lights of the city below illuminated the night sky a deep purple hue through the giant window across the room. She made her way into the bathroom, still transfixed with her surroundings, and marveled at all the shampoos and soaps lined along the large bathtub. Their labels indicated that they were definitely not on the cheap side. Backing out, she went in search of the beds and froze.

There was only one.

There was no mistaking it was a magnificent bed. White and black sheets, a grey comforter, and feather pillows all arranged on a king sized mattress - the thing was the epitome of comfort. But there was only one.

She debated on asking Sesshoumaru about it, but soon figured that to be a waste of breath. They had already slept together, so why would sharing a bed be a problem?

It isn't.

It wasn't.

"I will take the couch."

She jumped when she heard his voice softly speak up from behind her. He already knew. She turned to face him, but quickly looked away, avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Making this difficult,"

He held up his hand, stopping her from saying anymore. "Nonsense. I should have informed you of our sleeping arrangements before I finalized it. The fault is my own."

She gave him a soft nod before leaning up and placing a small kiss on his cheek. He kissed her back fully on the lips in return.

"I want you to feel comfortable on this trip, not a burden. Now go unpack," he told her, "We have a long week ahead of us."

Kagome's eyes brightened. "Can we go sightseeing after we eat?"

He shook his head, turning on the television to check the local news. "Not tonight. I have to prepare for tomorrow's meeting. After that is taken care of, we will go."

"Oh," she said dejectedly.

Before either of the two could say any more, there was a soft knock on the door.

"I thought I told them not to send the food up here," Sesshoumaru stated, walking towards the doorway.

Instead of a tray, they were greeted by a short and stocky boy holding out a single manila envelope to Sesshoumaru, who only stared at the boy's hand in return.

"Umm…" he started, shifting his weight from one pudgy leg to the next, "I h-have a uh-letter for umm… a Miss Kagome Hi-Higurashi, sir."

He snatched the letter from the boy's hand and slammed the door in his face, making him stumble backwards into the hallway. He turned back to Kagome and handed her the envelope, which she took apprehensively.

"Did you tell any of your friends you were staying in this hotel?"

Kagome only scoffed. "As if I have friends now."

"Kagome,"

"No. It must have been a reporter or something. After that 'Higurashi and Newest Flame Head to Sapporo' article came out, people have been saying a lot of things."

After breaking the seal and looking inside, the only thing Kagome found was a single three-by-five card that read in capital letters, _"SEE YOU AT THE FESTIVAL, TASTY BIT."_

Sesshoumaru watched as she read the small card and how considerably pale her face went in a manner of seconds. He immediately took the card from her hands and looked it over before rushing out of the hotel room and into the hall where the busboy who delivered it was sure to be. Sure enough, he was standing by the elevators, about to board, before Sesshoumaru grabbed him by his collar and dragged him several feet away.

"Who sent this!?" he ground out dangerously to the now scared-out-of-hit-wits boy.

"I-I don't know!" he cried, holding up his hands. "I only deliver what I'm told! Y-you'll have to ask one of the ladies at the front desk! They take care that stuff!"

"You'd better hope, for your sake, that the woman who took this message is down there." Sesshoumaru hissed, flexing his claws.

"Sesshoumaru, leave him alone."

Both men spun around to see Kagome waiting impatiently by an open elevator.

"If he was dumb enough to send that, he must be stupid enough to stick around. Are we going to find the woman or not?"

* * *

"I'm sorry, Miss," the concierge told Kagome, "but the envelope was found at the front desk with your room information attached to it. We assumed it was from another guest."

"And do you make it a habit to send off all unattended mail to your patrons, when they have, in fact, made it very clear that they were not to be disturbed by anyone in any form?" Sesshoumaru bit out, slamming the manila envelope flat on the desk. "Perhaps a lawsuit is in order."

The woman stiffened. "N-no, Mr. Taisho, sir! This whole thing must have been a misunderstanding on our part. We make sure all of our guests receive the best, safest, service possible! I will personally make sure to get to the bottom of this and straighten everything out for you and your wife."

"Wife?!" Kagome squeaked.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, turning bright pink, "I-I mean… your… sister?"

Both Kagome and Sesshoumaru visibly shuddered.

The woman bit her lip. "I'll just keep my mouth shut."

"It would be wise." he muttered.

--

Back in Tokyo…

--

Souta had been awake from his coma for over a week and was living in the same room as his grandfather. The older Higurashi, deciding he was just as good a caretaker as any doctor or nurse, had decided to have the boy stay in his downstairs room where he could better reach him at any moment as well as monitor him throughout the night.

Since the crash, the family had learned the boy's head injuries were worse than originally thought. At one point, they feared they might have had to face the decision to choose between life and death. Much to everyone's relief, that was the day a teary-eyed Rin exclaimed the boy was holding her hand, and held it up for everyone to see. There was not one dry eye in the room then.

Recovery was an extremely slow process. While he could talk, half of what he said made little to no sense. Sentences were jumbled thoughts and headaches were frequent. He was able to use the bathroom on his own, but his motor skills were that of a five-year old. A personal physical therapist was appointed to the family who visited every other day to help him get back on his feet.

Inuyasha was adamant on paying for everything, whether he had the money or not. He took on two jobs and was hardly ever seen unless someone peeked into his room during the midnight hours to watch him sleep. His father felt it was a good life lesson for him, despite its severity.

Totosai wanted more than anything to find "that Kikyo girl," but he couldn't get more than an, "I promised," out of Inuyasha. He really did hate the amount of honor and stubbornness inu-youkai held. He was still trying to think of ways he could trick the boy into telling him, but the dog appeared to be more smart than anyone gave him credit for.

It was after ten o'clock and both Souta and his grandfather had gone to bed over an hour ago. Rin was left in the care of Mrs. Higurashi while Sesshoumaru and Kagome were out of town, and Mr. Taisho rarely left her side that day.

"Rin-chan!" Kagome's mother called from the living room, "Its time for a bath and then off to bed."

Both Mrs. Higurashi and Mr. Taisho were sitting on the couch going through old documents that they were hoping would help in the case against Naraku. Four and a half hours of searching and the two had nothing but old bank statements and stock reports. Rin sat in front of them, facing the television, watching her favorite cartoon whilst drinking juice from her sippy cup.

"Nooooooo!" the child retorted, stomping her foot for good measure. "Anpanman!"

Frazzled, and on her very last nerve, the older woman stood before Rin, crossed her arms, and gave her a discerning glare. The look only served as fuel for the oncoming temper tantrum, which Mr. Taisho quickly intercepted after deciding he had enough fun watching the two interact for the day.

"Rin-Rin?" he called in his sing-song voice, "Can you take a bath so Grandpa can tuck you in? He is very tired." He made a fake yawn, which for some reason, delighted the girl.

"Rin wants to sleep with jii-chan!" she cried, jumping into his arms and spilling her drink on his blue button-up shirt. She held her index finger over her lips and looked up at him innocently. "Oops?"

Mrs. Higurashi let out an exasperated sigh. "_You_ give her a bath. _I'll_ tackle that pile of papers on the table."

Mr. Taisho took his attention from his sticky top and looked at her incredulously. "Are you sure you can even understand half of what those say??"

The woman froze where she stood, the sudden sensation of being hit with a ton of bricks racking her entire body. In all of her years of friendship with the man, not once has he ever dared insult her the way he had, consciously or not. He would pay.

"I am surprised at you, Daichi Taisho!" she cried. "Do you honestly think I married my husband with little to no experience? Who do you think graduated from Tokyo University with a Master's in MIS Business? Who do you think was the one who convinced iboth/i you and my husband to merge companies? How much more profit did that bring to the both of you?! Who was the person who saved iyour/i assets after my husband's death??"

"My apologies! But I'm just saying its been a while and the questions you've been asking tonight…"

Mrs. Higurashi was not amused. She glared at the man, making both him and Rin visibly shudder. "Are you saying that after twenty-four years, I have somehow lost it? If I remember correctly, I believe it was only last year when a certain inu-youkai came to my doorstep, begging for help on a certain economic decision regarding the _fate_ of his entire empire. My family may have removed their name from the company, but it appears we are still active partners, Taisho-san."

Mr. Taisho sunk back, close to whimpering at the verbal beating he was receiving. "I-I'll go wash Rin and tuck her in Kagome-chan's bed?"

The woman nodded and went back to her spot on the couch. This time brushing aside the different stock papers in favor for her husband's old list of employees before and after the merger. Rin looked back at the older woman and accompanied her grandfather up the stairs, whispering, "Mama baa-chan is scary sometimes."

He could only nod in agreement.

Thirty minutes later the house was completely silent. Rin had been washed and was now sleeping in Kagome's bed upstairs, Souta and his grandfather were still asleep, and Mr. Taisho was sitting cross-legged on the living room couch watching intently as Mrs. Higurashi bit her bottom lip, deep in concentration, as she circled and highlighted certain documents and sentences.

There was something about her that challenged his beast and he was more interested than anything else to figure out how she had done so. The woman had chastised him on several occasions, mostly for preventable errors on his part, during the days when she and her husband had been happily married and not once had he felt the desire to whimper and growl at the same time. He didn't like it.

He noticed her pause and sensed her sudden confusion. He glanced over at the paper she was looking at. Naraku's name was everywhere. Apparently her husband kept a tab on the Onigumo name and recorded every little thing the man did from the time he was hired to his release.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I-I don't understand… this." she mumbled, not one bit pleased to admit weakness.

"Lemme see." he said, reaching for the paper and accidentally brushing against her fingers in the process. Neither admitted the odd sensation the close contact caused.

Mr. Taisho cleared his throat. "Um… wh-what is it you do not understand?"

Mrs. Higurashi wiped the blush from her face before he saw it. "Two weeks after my husbands death, it says he sold all of our stock shares to Naraku. Apparently there was a signed agreement, but I can't find that anywhere." she said, shuffling a pile of papers around. "But here," she said, pulling out her husband's will. "it says that his brother will receive all our stocks. I don't remember ever discussing that with him when we did our life insurance the year before his death. I don't even remember going through this paper, but its signed."

Mr. Taisho studied each paper carefully. "Do you have any other papers related to the will?" he asked carefully.

She nodded, going back to her pile. He took the paper from her outstretched hand and studied it.

"That was the one I know the two of us worked on together. He originally wanted half to go to his father and me, and half to go to the children… but back then, it was close to a million each."

"Do you have any back statements from the month he died?" he asked, looking closely at each paper.

She handed him another paper. "The month before he died was when the stocks started going bad and we decided to move in here."

"I thought it was just to take care of his father?" he questioned.

"That was part of it. Tetsuya didn't want to risk anything. We were both very careful with our money, yet it still somehow managed to blow up in our faces… Money just started dissipating and no matter what we did, we couldn't get the numbers back up. We thought about moving into an apartment, but his death kind of put a halt to that."

"Asuka," he whispered, "if I had only known…"

"Don't be sorry, Daichi." she smiled. "We have managed fine."

For some reason he felt like he had failed the woman and her children. He and Tetsuya had been extremely close, and after his death, the only thing he did for the family was give them their half of the money earned and wished them off. It was almost disgraceful what he did. He should have taken the woman and her family in and cared for them as a brother-in-law would, even if he wasn't one by blood.

He made his way closer to her spot on the couch and wrapped her in his arms begging for forgiveness. "I am so sorry." he whispered.

Mrs. Higurashi had tears in her eyes. She nodded and wrapped her small arms around his torso. Not once had she been able to publicly shed tears for her husband. She always had to be the strong one for her children's sake. Even when she thought she could cry at night, when everyone was supposed to be asleep, she feared her sobs would be too loud.

How the next events happened the way they did, neither could tell. What started out as a simple inu-nuzzle to the cheek, turned into a caress, which escalated into a heated kiss. Hands explored while tongues and lips battled for some kind of dominance.

Mrs. Higurashi was the first to pull away.

"F-forgive me!" Mr. Taisho stuttered. "I-I don't know what came over me."

She nodded apprehensively. "We can't let that happen again."

He agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Sesshoumaru and Kagome would kill us if they found out they were close to being brother and sister after only a week of absence." he snickered.

She smiled. "I could never do that to them."

The two sat in silence, imagining their two very pissed off children. It was a wise idea to remain "just friends."

"Anyway," Mrs. Higurashi said, breaking the silence. "did you find something I might have overlooked?"

Mr. Taisho went back to look over the papers, forcing himself to ignore her smooth calves. "The numbers don't add up."

"But we always double checked our expenses before recording them." she defended.

"Its not just that." he told her, "its everything during that last month. There are transactions and agreements that you may have never been notified of. Someone else has your money."

She gave him a questioning gaze. "I… don't understand."

He sighed. "Asuka, look." He held up a cream colored paper. It was the will that was presented immediately following her husband's death. "This is a false document. Tetsuya never had any brothers -that were alive, anyway. This is the exact thing I was trying to prove, but had no positive evidence. Now we do!"

"But-"

"Someone made up a false will and posed as your husband's deceased younger brother. The only legal documents are the original will and your bank statements. The official who presided over this probably had some kind of cut into the deal, which is why you thought all the money you had was lost. It was actually stolen."

Her face paled. "Then who has all our money??"

"Naraku Onigumo."

* * *

"And why are you showing this to me?"

"Because I, unlike my older brother, value my life and do not wish to be mangled by a pack of filthy dogs and their human bitches."

She was a petite woman with delicate, if not sinister, facial features. Her eyes were as red as the lipstick she wore and, by tying her hair back in a small ponytail, she proudly displayed her jade earrings, signifying her wealth for all to see. She obviously had nothing to gain, but everything to lose, by stepping into the station that night.

"You do realize I have a warrant to arrest anyone suspicious of offering aid to Onigumo's escape."

She scoffed. "As if I would provide aid. Arrest me if you must, but I only came here to drop off something you might have found useful. Do with it what you want. My work here is done."

With that being said, she turned on her heel and walked out of the office, her maroon dress swishing with each step she took.

Totosai removed his gaze from the woman's small backside and focused on the package she threw on his desk. Carefully opening it, he peeked inside and found several papers, post-its, and loose leaf notes, some almost intelligible. What caught his attention the most, however, was the videotape at the very bottom of the box. There were a series of different dates written on the front, otherwise nothing else indicating where it came from.

Inserting the tape into the VCR of the small television that sat on his desk, he sat back, only to nearly fall out of his chair at the horrors he saw produced on the screen. The first few scenes were candid shots of Kagome working around the restaurant. Suddenly, the scene cut and the camera was filming an empty dressing room. Kagome walking in, tired and huffing, wearing her black work uniform. Her hair and makeup was disheveled. She closed the door, locked it, and sunk down in front of the door, burying her face in her knees. Though it was faint, he could make out her small sobs. Someone started pounding on the door and she jumped, quickly wiping her eyes.

_"Kagome! Are you in there? The doors locked!"_

_"Yeah."_ she said in her normal tone. _"I'm just changing. Gimme a minute!"_

_"Alright. No rush."_

The camera continued to roll as she removed her shirt and skirt. Several bruises marred her otherwise flawless looking skin. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror.

_"You really are a fucking worthless piece of shit."_ she muttered.

The next scene played. This time it wasn't of Kagome, though. It was of someone else. Another girl. She was tied to a small, wooden, chair that sat in front of the camera.

i_Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo…"_ It was a masculine voice. _"You really do enjoy this, don't you? Tying yourself up like the good little bitch you are."_

The girl didn't answer.

_"But I've found someone else. Someone more worthy of my attention. Someone whose family wouldn't_ dare _make my name look like dirt."_

She still didn't answer.

_"What am I going to do with you? My delicate little flower… What was it your father did for a living? Oh! That's right!_ He's the editor of that newspaper that printed that NASTY article! Isn't he?!"

A small dagger flew from the side of the camera and struck the wall a few inches from her face. The girl let out a loud whimper.

_"Do you really think I'm a corrupt old man, babe? I bought you everything your heart desired and you took it without question."_ A dark body walked from behind the camera and pulled the dagger from the wall. He turned around and kneeled to the girl's side, keeping the blade pointed at her. _"Tell me,"_ he whispered, _"have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up without a father? Mother? Family?"_ The dagger swayed back and forth in his hand.

She squealed, wide-eyed. Her lips remained pressed shut.

_"Ah, ah!"_ he chastised, _"We don't speak when we're in the 'naughty chair,' remember?"_

She nodded.

_"So tell me,"_ he began again, stroking the blade along her cheeks, _"is Daddy going to print a new article by tomorrow?"_

She nodded vigorously.

_"And is it going to rebuke that old article about poor old Mister Onigumo? Someone just interpreted the information wrong?"_

Again she nodded.

He smirked before making a small slit along her left cheek with the blade. She gasped. _"Good. That was because you were a bad little girl."_ He poked the cut with the tip. _"Now untie yourself and get undressed."_

The camera continued to film as she removed all of her clothing, begged for forgiveness and began to kiss the man.

Totosai had seen enough. He stopped the tape just as she was removing the buckle from Naraku's pants and put it back in the box. He pulled out a few papers and looked them over. Some of the dates were the same as the ones he saw on the bottom corner of the tape. The most recent spoke of his plan to get the Higurashi girl to "finally submit to him." If the Taisho men had all their paperwork together, then he had all the evidence he would need.

"I'm sorry, sir." It was the soft voice of the little lynx youkai, Bunza.

He looked up. "Bunza, what-"

He was greeted with the barrel of a handgun.

* * *

**Umm... Don't kill me!! This story is going to have a happy ending, DAMNIT!**

After reading over the interaction between the two parents, my face kind of dropped and I went, "EWWW!!"  
Lovely.

And yes, the woman in the maroon dress was Kagura.

Read, rate, review. Just no flames please.  
Have a wonderful weekend! 

**-VG-**


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